


Chosen

by Jezzycat202



Category: Furry (Fandom), Original Work
Genre: Lmao yeah I'm a dirty furry, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2018-11-21 15:23:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 52,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11360196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jezzycat202/pseuds/Jezzycat202
Summary: Jezzy is an average citizen of Juniper. He's nothing special. He graduated high school like everyone else and is now trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life. One day, he meets the oddest cat he's ever laid eyes on and before he knows it, he's dragged into something far beyond belief.(This is a furry/anthro story. Don't like it, please don't harass me over it. May contain swearing, suggestive scenes, drugs, alcohol, and violence. Will contain explicitly LGBT+ characters.)





	1. ☆

Solitary.

A word commonly associated with quietness, peace, and being utterly alone. Not many recognize that there is utmost bliss in being by oneself, isolated from the growing society of the growing world.

Overlooking the edge of a well-populated city was a hill. Said hill was not large enough to be a mountain, nor was it oddly-shaped enough to have been considered a landmark or tourist attraction.

It was simply, 'the hill'.

Little know that this ordinary hill was actually the residence of an extraordinary cat. Yellow-furred and accented with tiny orange markings, he simply didn't look like anything more than your Average Joe. His eyes were dark, almost black, yet there seemed to be a galaxy lurking within them. He had a cocky sort of smile that would make you drop your gaze with insecurity as if somehow, in the mere seconds you happened to look upon him, something had horribly morphed you into a grotesque being, a lower being. It was as if he'd stripped you of any and all rights to have looked at him in the first place.

Luckily for the residents of the nearby city of Juniper, this cat rarely left the confines of the hill that he called home.

A long time ago, something happened to the hill, causing it to cave in on one side, forming a mouth to the hill’s interior. Over time, the area had hollowed out and was found by Amber Spots, a great sorceress. Amber Spots was a resourceful feline and quickly made adjustments to claim the cave as her own.

In the far back of the cave, a ledge had been carved out of the wall. A less than impressive mattress had been propped on the ledge and had been used many a time. Alongside the opposite wall, paintings of spells long forgotten coated the rock. In a scattering of a pile, a large number of old spell books laid on the floor, yellowed with age. An array of baggy clothes were haphazardly thrown about the cave. Crystals of all colors grew among the rocks and stones.

Most spectacular of this cave, and perhaps the most natural, was the glistening pool of water that glimmered as if all the stars in the sky had dropped to the bottom.

Sitting in this pool was therapeutic and the cat felt that it benefited his magic greatly.

You see, this cat had magic in his blood.

He was the only son, or child for that matter, of the great Amber Spots.

His mother had been known throughout the world as the last magic-blooded creature of the generation. She was greatly renowned for her complicated spells and inclination to help those who needed her. She was known for adrenaline-craving, often partaking in dangerous events to get the rush that everyone seemed to crave. This seemed to keep her motivation peaked.

Unfortunately, it had been the same aspect of her personality that had been her downfall.

The poor son of a sorcerer had been left without a mother at age seven. He had grown up on his own, living off of the land he'd been raised on. Over time, he found that he could decipher the inscriptions on the walls and the strange markings in the books that his mother had cherished. He had awoken the magic in his blood.

With his newfound magic came an abundance of possibilities. No longer would he have to go hungry because the rabbit had been too fast or the fish had been too slippery. He could conjure whatever he wanted whenever he pleased. He only had to focus.

Of course, summoning his meals wasn't the extent of his powers. He found that he could perform a lot of the spells that his mother had excelled in just as easily if not more. His memory had retained his mother reciting the words and performing the movements from when he was only a mewling kitten.

Every once in a blue moon, the cat would tire of being by himself and long for something to do. When these time visited him, he tended to wander to the less populated side of Juniper.

There, he could frequent the local library. There he could learn more about magic, more about his mother, and more about himself.

No one recognized him. It had been such a long time since Amber Spots had proudly paraded her tiny son throughout the town, introducing him to the biggest names and the kindest of folks. It had been so long ago that the cat himself couldn't even remember their faces.

The sorcerer had learned how to stop his age on his nineteenth birthday; or what he figured his nineteenth birthday was. He'd been nineteen consecutively for a long time now and most of the residents who had known him were dying or already dead. It wasn't like he ever purposely went to find them anyways.

He found society utterly perplexing. No one else could do magic. No one else lived in caves. No one else looked like him. No one else was like him.

Juniper was ever-changing, growing from a small town to a bustling city. Ridden horses had been replaced with automobiles. Phonographs had been exchanged for boomboxes. Proper language had been ultimately forgotten for slang.

Such drastic changes bothered him greatly. He found no reason to keep advancing in this world and wondered why everyone couldn't just leave things the way they were. He never strayed off of his regular route, keeping his gaze lowered until he was safe inside the library. He had no friends nor acquaintances and he never wanted them. There was no need for friends when he had magic.

Besides, he'd never be able to keep up with them anyways.

Despite all of this, the cat held a certain fondness for Juniper. After all, it was the only place he had ever known and that had to account for something.

The cat shook his head to clear it, standing up from the ground on which he sat. He turned and stretched, cracking his back and walking into the cave. His paw pads made quiet thuds against the floor as he made his way to the pool. His long orange tail whisked from side to side.

Stopping at the pools edge, he tugged the three-sizes-too-large shirt off of his torso and threw it onto the mattress across the cave. With a sniff, he lowered his bottom half onto a cleft in the pool's wall.

The cool water lapped at his chest and was a welcoming distraction to his thinking. The water hardly rippled, smoothing over on the top like a stone. As the water seeped into his fur, the cat shivered luxuriously. He rested his head on the edge of the pool and breathed deeply.

In...out...in...out...

...until he drifted into a light sleep...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~☆

Furious.

I'm angry.

The whole world seemed to shudder around the sorcerer as he struggled to keep his balance as the earth undulated.

So angry.

Want to kill.

The cat shook his head again, his gaze darting around the darkness in terror. His heart pounded so hard he feared his chest would explode.

“Who? Who's angry?” He thought nervously.

An angry roar shook the room and the sorcerer dropped to his knees, clutching his ears.

Kill them. Kill them!

Never should have left.

Hurt me!

The cat shuddered, his eyes flickering open reluctantly. His stomach churned with terror and he feared that if he chose to open his mouth, he would lose the dinner he had had earlier.

The blackness had cleared and in its place was Juniper.

A monstrous shadow loomed over the town, a paw raised.

Where?

Where are you?

The cat blinked, his stomach twisting more and more.

Kill!

Kill them all!

And with a deafening howl, the paw crashed down, the ground split open, and the sorcerer awoke. He was screaming and his pulse had spiked.

With wide eyes, he clambered out of the pool, racing to the mouth of the cave. His terrified gaze surveyed the lazy city of Juniper which was settling down for the night as the sun dipped out of sight.

Immediately, the cat knew he'd had a vision.

His mother before him used to have visions frequently. They were mostly about trivial things such as who was to marry who and who would win the next presidential election.

With a gulp, the sorcerer acknowledged that he had just had a vision of his hometown being destroyed mercilessly by a powerful force.

He had just witnessed the devastating future of the town his mother had loved with all of her heart.

Taking in a shaky breath, the cat observed the blissfully unaware townsfolk who milled about peacefully.

They had no idea.

The cat sucked in another deep breath, bowing his head as the sun set behind the hill.

No one deserved to die in that manner no matter how angry the force seemed to be. The townspeople had never wronged anything greatly and they deserved long, uninterrupted lives.

He remembered his beautiful mother overlooking this same town, the wind fluffing her spotted fur.

All living things are put on this world for a reason.

The cat looked up, his eyes narrowing with grim determination.

My name is Sorciere, and I am going to save them all.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆


	2. ★

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Jezzy Catnip, the typical high school graduate who has no idea what he's doing with his life.

Tap, tap, tap, tap...

A lanky, two-toned cat of orange and white trotted down the cobblestone path nervously, his hands fumbling in his sweater pocket. His gaze darted anxiously from side to side, picking up every little detail in the alley. His senses seemed to be on hyperdrive, it was almost as if he was expecting something terrible to happen.

'Where is he? I know he's out here somewhere. He can't ever give me a break...' The cat thought forlornly, wiping at the sweat that dripped down his forehead.

His fur felt hot and itchy. His steps were quick and clumsy. His fluffy tail whisked back and forth anxiously; it brushed against a discarded cardboard box and the poor cat nearly jumped out of his skin.

'It's just a box, Jezzy. Quit getting so worked up.' The cat scolded himself. He gazed more confidently around the alley as he spotted a light farther ahead. He chewed on his lip thoughtfully. 'Maybe he's busy today. He has got to have something better to do than bothering me all day.'

Jezzy noticeably slowed his pace as he moved closer to the end of the alleyway. He could see the buildings thinning further on in the distance and knew he would reach the less populated part of Juniper soon. There was no need to worry.

But it seemed that he had jinxed himself for no sooner had he thought these careless thoughts, a shadow lunged out of hiding, barreling into Jezzy and throwing him against the wall. Jezzy gasped with both surprise and loss of breath. His wide green and yellow eyes blinked to clear their haziness and he let out a forlorn sigh as he took in his captor.

Tall, muscled, and somewhat coy, the canine was all but a pleasant sight when one was trapped against a wall. His dark fur was groomed diligently and his tail flicked against the ground in a somewhat happy manner. His amber eyes stared into Jezzy's with a mixture of menace and playfulness.

"W-what do you want today, Dexion?" Jezzy whimpered, turning his face as Dexion's hot, panting breath brushed his cheek. He struggled faintly in indignance, but knew that he was not near strong enough to push the predator away. Dexion found this quite funny.

With a smirk, one of Dexion's paws fell from Jezzy's wrist and groped down the trembling cat's thigh, fumbling at the pocket of his sweatpants. Jezzy let out an irritated growl as Dexion's swift paw retreated, treasure in hand.

Swiping open the wallet while using his knee to keep Jezzy in place, Dexion inspected the contents with mild interest. There wasn't all that much money in the wallet as Jezzy was used to this sort of behavior and kept his earnings at his house, but it was enough reason for Dexion to bother him.

"You're really skimping on the money, Jez. Life getting too rough for ya?" Dexion asked, fishing out a twenty dollar bill and waving it teasingly in front of Jezzy's face. Jezzy refused to look, simply muttering under his breath.

Though Jezzy was trying to seem tougher than he actually is, Dexion could still feel him shivering terribly. The plain truth was that Jezzy was not a fighter.

And that was why he stood there and took the abuse every time trouble found him,which was often in this part of town. Even so, he'd never turned in Dexion for his actions despite how constant they seemed to be.

In all honesty, Dexion didn't seem like a bad guy. He'd never harmed Jezzy aside from minor bruising or a scrape here or there and he'd never taken all of the money he had on hand either. In a funny way, it was almost like Dexion planned these little events just to pick on him.

Jezzy let out a shuddering sigh, watching with dismay as Dexion swiped another five and rolled the money together between his fingertips. Shoving the cash into his jeans pocket, he gave Jezzy a look that slightly reminded him of a playful child.

"Relax, you're so uptight. I'm not taking all of it." Dexion threw the wallet into the air, flipped it with his fingers and tossed it to Jezzy's chest. The cat flinched and the wallet fell to the ground with a thump.

At this, Dexion released his grip on Jezzy's wrist, walking backwards leisurely without a care in the world. He ran a hand through his neatly cut hair and grinned.

"Same time tomorrow, yeah?"

Jezzy slowly bent down to get his wallet, glaring at Dexion's shoes. He was tired of getting humiliated and mugged every time he went anywhere in this town, yet it was the only place he could ever imagine living in. He could choose not to take this alley home, but it was a shortcut. Besides, Dexion seemed to have eyes all over the town and Jezzy knew that, somehow, he'd find him.

He always did.

Dexion took a step forward, placing a hand on Jezzy's lower sloping shoulder. Jezzy flinched, his eyes snapping shut.

"Aw, don't take it personally, kiddo. We do this to everyone. You're no special exception."

Jezzy wrung his hands awkwardly before tugging at his sweater's neckline habitually.

"It just seems like you pick on me m-more..." He murmured, his voice a little more than a whisper. He usually didn't speak to Dexion for fear of getting himself into deeper consequences, but he was troubled by how little the other residents in town reported getting jumped by Dexion or his thugs.

Dexion blinked, his ears flattening. He quickly removed his hand and took a step back. His brows furrowed and he chuckled almost too loudly.

"It's all in your head, sweet cheeks. Thanks for the cash though!"

With that, a highly flustered Dexion bolted the opposite direction down the alley, not looking back at his trembling victim even once.

Jezzy returned his wallet to his pocket, staring after Dexion with confusion and mild hatred. He was tired of getting his money stolen just because the stupid canine couldn't get a job instead.

With a cough, Jezzy turned back the way he was going in the first place and jogged out of the alley, breathing a sigh of relief that no other crazy jerks found him. He supposed he couldn't think all too badly about Dexion considering he'd failed to find a job from the moment he graduated.

It shouldn't have been that hard of a process. Graduating with high honors and more than enough credits to get him into the local college, Jezzy just simply didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. All of his friends had seemed to have been accepted into colleges or part time jobs as soon as they set foot out of high school.

He simply wasn't looking hard enough.

Jezzy let out an irritated growl, his hands forming fists at his sides.

He couldn't let a little mishap ruin what was left of his day this badly. He had somewhere to be and currently, he wasn't getting there.

Quickening his step, Jezzy made a sharp right and padded grumpily towards the local cafe, Thanks A Latte. Hopefully some normal socialization would cheer him up.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ding, ding.

The bell at the top of the door rang happily as Jezzy pushed it open. Mentally, he cursed the tiny bell for warning anyone of his entrance at all. He was only here to see one person and he didn't need an audience.

The two-toned cat padded towards one of the tables after spotting the one person he was actually happy to see today. He sent a half-heartedly polite wave at a pretty white and black waitress who smiled cheerfully in his direction, but didn't give him a second glace. With a sigh, he pulled back the opposing wooden chair and flopped down, entirely exhausted.

"Wow, what happened to you? You look like you rolled down the street to get here."

Jezzy looked up at his friend with tired eyes.

His friend was a very pretty pale yellow cat with wavy teal-to-viridian ombre hair; she was a sight to behold. She had an almost calming presence to her and it instantly made Jezzy feel quite a bit better. Her warm blue eyes searched Jezzy's questioningly.

"I might as well have, Mia." Jezzy cracked his knuckles, his tail swishing irritably on the floor. "Dexion jumped me again. He took twenty-five bucks and roughed me up a little. I didn't really feel like going home to freshen up, sorry."

Jezzy gave his friend and apologetic glance, finger-combing through his bangs quickly in an attempt to make himself look less like he'd gone through a blender (or, in his case, an oddly friendly gang member).

Mia sighed heavily, leaning back in her chair and rocking it onto its back legs. Jezzy visibly tensed as if waiting for her to lean back too far and fall to the floor. This amused Mia, though she said nothing.

"You know Dex isn't that bad of a person. Whenever I see him in the hospital, he's usually more roughed up than the other guy. I think he's just not the luckiest when it comes to how he was raised." She paused for a second. "I don't think he has a lot of friends other than his little cronies."

Jezzy blew a puff of air at his bangs as they fell onto his nose.

"It's a wonder why." He sniffed sarcastically.

Mia gave Jezzy a stern look before her frown curled into a sneaky grin. One of her eyebrows raised as if she knew something Jezzy didn't. She adjusted her flower crown before pretending to focus her attention on something behind Jezzy.

Jezzy shook his head with annoyance.

"Oh, no you don't. You're thinking of something and I know it. You gotta tell me now." The two-toned feline stated quickly, his eyes pleading.

Though he was usually polite and kept to his own business, whenever Mia had that look, it usually meant she had something good to share.

"Oh, it's nothing really. It's just..." She tapped her chin before shaking her head. "No, probably nothing. Don't mind me."

Jezzy let out a distressed groan, leaning over the table.

"Come on, Mia... Please...?"

Mia giggled, rolling her eyes.

"You're honestly such a sucker for hook and line." She chided.

"Come on, just tell me!"

"Alright, fine. Now this is nothing but a theory mind you, but hypothetically speaking, there is a chance that maybe-"

"Oh my God, Mia. Please just tell me."

Mia laughed a bit louder, enjoying her friend's pleading far too much.

"Alright fine. It seems like every time I see you, Dexion has bullied you in some way or another. Don't you ever find it odd that it only seems to be you? Or that he always knows where to find you?"

Jezzy shrugged.

"I guess so..."

"Well, maybe it's just an excuse to see you. Maybe he wants to be your friend or," She paused, wiggling her eyebrows. "Something more. It could be how he shows his affection."

Jezzy scoffed though his cheeks reddened.

"Huh, that's a funny way to show someone that you like them. Nice theory Mia, but I really don't think that's it."

Mia shrugged.

"I've shared my wisdom. That's about all I can do for you, Jez."

Jezzy was about to argue when a mulberry colored caracal with nervous yellow eyes approached with a notepad. Jezzy recognized her faintly from high school having graduated with her, but not knowing her by name.

Squinting, he read the name tag on her Thanks A Latte tank-top.

Pandora.

"Hello. Are you two ready to order?" Pandora asked, her voice soft. Jezzy wondered why such a quiet girl would work at a place that required a lot of talking, but had the decency to keep it to himself.

Mia nodded, not at all fazed.

"Yeah, could I get a small iced coffee with milk please?" She thought for a moment before speaking up again. "Make that a medium actually."

Pandora acknowledged the order, writing on the notepad with elegant, looping handwriting. She turned to Jezzy with a required smile. "And you, sir?"

Jezzy hesitated.

"Could I get any kind of tea here or...?"

Mia's eyes widened with astonishment. She clapped a hand over her mouth and stared at Jezzy like he was from outer space. He wondered if he had somehow offended her entire family line.

Pandora nodded though.

"I'd recommend the black tea lemonade myself." She said softly.

Jezzy fumbled for words.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, that's good! Just put me down for a small one if you can." As Pandora scribbled down his order, Jezzy gave Mia a questioning look. She just growled quietly.

Pandora finished her shorthand and gave the two a wave good-bye, retreating over to the barista behind the counter.

"Thank you!" Jezzy called after her before turning to his friend once more.

"What the heck was that?!" Mia exclaimed, keeping her voice low.

Jezzy's eyes widened.

'What? I just ordered tea. What's the big deal?"

Mia tapped her foot on the ground.

"That is the big deal! You ordered tea at a coffee shop!"

Jezzy shrugged awkwardly.

"So? A lot of people do that, I'm sure."

Mia huffed grumpily.

"Not normal people." She drew her hand through her hair and gave Jezzy a long-suffering look. "You're such a weirdo."

Pandora returned not too long after she had left, the iced coffee in one hand and the tea in the other. Diligently, she handed out the drinks before giving a tiny bow and rushing off to another table.

It wasn't like there was a rush or an surplus in customers, Pandora just seemed to always be in a hurry.

Jezzy shook his head. That wasn't the life he wanted.

He raised the glass to his lips, taking a sip and letting out a contented sigh. For the first time today, he could finally relax.

"Mm, this stuff's good." Jezzy said, licking his lips. "Dunno how I'm going to pay for it though. Dexion took twenty-five; I only had twenty-seven."

Mia coughed into her elbow, giving Jezzy a death glare.

"It's bad enough you got tea, but now I gotta pay for it?" She pouted in mock-anger before giving Jezzy a smile. "You are such a dork."

The two friends drank their orders slowly, relishing in the eased tension. Jezzy was seemingly always on edge, but it was at times like this where he could truly appreciate the company of others. His head bobbed slightly as the faint strains of Gabriel Canal's newest song murmured throughout the cafe.

A blue cat with green eyes was chatting quietly with a pretty white horse near the barista's desk. He seemed to be very expressive, using his hands a lot while the white horse nodded slowly, her narrowed eyes focusing on a newspaper in front of her instead of her friend.

A yellow canine with choppy brown hair that she'd managed to put into a bun was sitting at another table, speaking with one of the waitresses in a friendly manner. Her curled, honey colored tail wagged happily and she tended to smile a lot. The waitress seemed a little uncomfortable talking to her, but obviously knew her from somewhere.

Near the window, a sunset-colored cat was holding hands with a fairly fluffier cat with grey and white fur. The grey cat's cheeks were flushed, but she seemed to be content with being near her friend. The duo looked out the glass, waving to a passerby with yellow spotted fur.

"Jezzy?"

Jezzy straightened up quickly, wiping his eyes underneath his glasses. He blinked a few times before taking a drink of his tea and looking at Mia.

"Y-Yeah?"

Mia tilted her head, looking a bit concerned.

"Are you tired?"

Jezzy smiled sheepishly, pushing his bangs up to expose his pale green eye.

"What gave it away?" He cracked his neck loudly. "I can't help it. This place makes me sleepy."

Mia gave him a sideways smile, looking at him warmly. She adjusted the flower crown atop her head absent-mindedly.

"When aren't you tired? Do you ever sleep?"

Jezzy shrugged. He finished off the tea in front of him and began to stand up, sending Mia an apologetic glance.

"I try. Anyways, it'd probably be best if I went home and got some rest. I don't want to fall asleep on you or something. Thanks for hanging out with me though. Really helped me relax." Jezzy was back in overdrive, speaking all too fast though there was no reason to. "I'm really sorry to cut this short but-"

Mia held up her hands and brought them down slowly as if to say 'Breathe'. Jezzy did so and gave her a thankful grin.

"Don't worry about it, Jezzy. I'll take whatever time I can to hang out with you. We've been skimping lately." She acknowledged, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe we could plan out a beach date or something sometime. It's starting to get warmer outside anyways."

Jezzy nodded, secretly dreading the beach. He couldn't swim and he hated to be seen without a shirt. He hadn't had a real swimsuit in years.

"Sounds good, Mamma Mia. Thanks again!"

Mia gave him a friendly wave as he pushed his chair back under the table and turned on his heel, walking to the door. He pushed on the door and stepped outside.

Jezzy searched the street for anyone who could cause him harm. When he found no one, he breathed appreciatively and began taking his route home.

As he passed by the library, he saw a shock of yellow zip past him. He turned to offer help, but it was gone as quick as he'd seen it. Feeling a little unnerved, he quickened his pace.

I've had more than enough of strange people today...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jezzy fished his house key out of his sweatshirt pocket and unlocked his door, stepping inside and shutting it behind him. His body relaxed noticeably when he was home. He didn't have to worry much about getting mugged in a place like this.

Living on the outskirts of town was one of the only good choices he'd made when he'd graduated. The distance between the more populated side of Juniper was nothing Jezzy couldn't manage and it was a great source of exercise.

He had virtually no neighbors, a quiet road, and all the fresh air he could ever want.

His house was painted a crisp white and his roof was a dark shade of grey. All of his windows had heavy curtains that blocked out the sun, nature, and unwanted peeping kids. The hard wood flooring was perfect for sliding across when Jezzy could find nothing better to do. Along the outer perimeter of his humble abode, a small garden with plenty of Dusty Millers grew healthily.

The newest installment had been a rickety porch swing he'd gotten as a Christmas present from his mother. He had placed it in his backyard and, though he rarely used it, thought it made his yard look less empty.

Jezzy padded across the floor and towards his bed. Arguably the most comfortable furniture item within a ten mile radius, he prided himself on keeping it clean and soft. Pillows were piled high along with plenty of stuffed animals he'd had ever since he was a little child.

Jezzy tossed off his shirt and pants quickly, grabbing a tank top to sleep in. He was more than a little appreciative that virtually none of his friends knew what he slept in. The tank top was a pastel pink with a tiny bow on the chest. Paired with the purple boxers he was currently donning, he didn't look the manliest.

Laughing at himself quietly, he sat on the bed, adjusting the pillow before laying back and cuddling into the softness beneath him. Instinctively, he turned onto his side and wrapped himself around his floral patterned body pillow.

Rubbing his face against the comforting fabric, he drifted off to sleep.

<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>

"Geez, make sure you're breathing right, J. How do you sleep like that anyways?"

Jezzy blinked open his eyes and looked at the affectionate face of a German Shepherd mix with green eyes. His ears were flattened shyly and his cheeks were heated.

The two-toned cat realized that nearly all the pillows on his bed were piled onto him, leaving only a little crack to peer at his visitor. He smiled sleepily into the sheets.

"Easy. I just close my eyes..." He murmured.

The canine rolled his own eyes, bopping a few of the pillow off the side of the bed and sitting by Jezzy. Immediately, Jezzy crawled onto his lap and cuddled close to him. He breathed slowly, his eyes shut.

"I missed you..." He said, his voice muffled. "Where did you go after high school?"

The dog hesitated, drawing his hand through Jezzy's hair gently.

"Places...lots of them. I couldn't stick around after...what I did."

Jezzy felt a familiar tightness in his throat, but he forced his voice to stay steady.

"We forgive you, you know. You were just...confused."

The dog fumbled for words.

"I know you do, which is why I had to leave. I couldn't stand to stay around after what I did to you two. Looking at her and looking at you just...it hurt, I guess. I'm really sorry." His eyes lowered and he rested his head on Jezzy's. "You both deserved so much better."

Jezzy paused, mulling over the canine's words before shifting. The canine's chin retreated as he sat up for Jezzy to get comfortable. The orange and white feline moved so that he was laying on his back and looked up at his visitor.

"Do you ever miss being with her? Vixen, I mean."

The dog thought before nodding.

Jezzy hesitated. He looked up at the canine shyly, feeling warm tears threatening to spill down his cheeks.

"Do you ever...miss being with me?"

The dog looked down with glassy eyes, looking more than a little forlorn.

"Every day of my life."

Jezzy's hands shot up and he grabbed his visitor's shirt collar, dragging him close to his face. His eyes snapped shut, leaning forward to press his lips against the other boy's. Just as his soft lips met the other's, there was a shock of yellow and-

<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>

Jezzy sat up unhappily, his fingers trailing over his bottom lip. His ears were lowered as he glanced at his body pillow.

Why of all times would I think about Maru today? I wasn't even sad earlier. Jezzy thought mutinously. I don't even like him anymore anyways.

And what was that yellow flash?

Jezzy shook his head from side to side, laying back down slowly. He knew he wasn't going to fall back asleep anytime soon with his glazed eyes seemingly stuck open. He cuddled his face into his body pillow and sighed, feeling a tear beginning to trace down his face.

He breathed slowly, shuddering a bit.

Things were so much simpler in high school...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pandora, Mia, and the blue cat do not belong to me! They were volunteered by friends to be in the series. Mia belongs to @geeks4squeaks !!


	3. ☆

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorciere finally finds an idea that might work after days of fruitless searching.

Sorciere had been in a tizzy ever since his fateful dream had rocketed his world into perspective.

Dusty spellbooks that had been untouched for the longest of times had been freshly reopened and gone through. Every topic had been diligently marked for further use, but none of them have proven useful. Sorciere already knew his spells like the best of mages. There were none that were conveniently made to rid of beasts. Small disturbances were one thing, but the size and pure fury of the beast in question were what worried Sorciere greatly.

Sorciere knew that nothing like this had ever happened in the past; suchhas been proven true with Sorciere's frazzled visits to the library. The librarians were worried about him and often tried to start conversations with him, but he had no time for common small talk. Everyone's lives were in danger.

There were plenty of books that were of interest to Sorciere. History books, books on cryptic messaging, books that tried (and failed) to predict the future; Sorciere had read them all. He became more and more frantic as no answers came to mind.

How could he possibly save the entire world if he couldn't even save a single town?

Highly distressed, Sorciere jogged out of the library. He passed by a two-toned cat, barely paying him so much as a glance as he hurried home.

His feet ached and his head was spinning, but he refused to stop until he was safe inside of the cave.

Ducking his head, he stepped into the great cavern, staring at his mattress longingly. A little sleep couldn't hurt after staying awake for several nights worrying.

Sorciere sighed heavily, flicking his plume of a tail as he crouched onto his bed. His dark eyes fluttered shut and, very hesitantly, he drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~☆

Sorciere opened his eyes reluctantly, knowing fully well that he was asleep. His dark eyes searched the dreamscape anxiously, awaiting for another nightmare, no, night terror. He expected the booming voice of the angry creature in wait or the crushing noise of Juniper being destroyed once again.

Instead, he was met with the peaceful, white dreamscape he was used to. Fluffy white clouds and fog flitted through the room aimlessly. Tiny dust particles glittered in the faint sunlight from above. Apart from Sorciere, the room was empty.

The mage breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since he could remember, he'd been a lucid dreamer. He figured it had to do with having magic in his blood. His mother could do the same and often retreated to her dreamscape when she was exhausted of the real world. She'd made plenty of amazing and impossible structures here using only her imagination and some persistence.

Sorciere closed his eyes, focusing on a beach. When he opened his eyes, he was unsurprisingly standing knee deep in a salty ocean. Calm waves lapped lazily at the dusty white sand of the coast. A few seagulls called noisily in the bright blue sky. To complete the scene, a white beach chair was sitting on the sands. A wooden box propped up a glass of lemonade and the book Sorciere had been reading earlier that day.

Perfect... Sorciere thought happily, his shoulders already relaxing at the prospect of taking it easy for a little while.

The yellow mage trotted over to the chair and he shooed away an all too curious seagull that had been inspecting his lemonade. He let out a loud sigh and flopped into the chair, arching his back to stretch his muscles. When he was satisfied, he snatched the lemonade from the top of the box and took a sip.

Not too sweet and not too sour.

Sorciere exhaled blissfully, looking out at the ocean with newfound appreciation. Whenever he stressed himself out in the waken world, he'd always turned to the pool in the cave to help him de-stress. He could now see where his mother had been coming from.

The magic-blooded cat peered out at the waves before turning his head, suddenly noticing something he'd never thought of before.

This place seems rather familiar...

Sorciere's eyes trailed further inland and he squinted with confusion at the pile of rocks that were piled haphazardly about near a cleft that led to the beach.

He hadn't been that specific when asking for a beach. There wasn't a lot of beaches, he thought, that had a rock pile that precariously placed.

Sorciere suddenly jumped up from his position on the beach chair and clapped his hands.

This was Juniper's beach. He remembered it very faintly from when he was but a tiny toddler. His mother had taken him at age one to meet a friend of hers who had recently married. The friend's name was Esther Wilburn. She was a gorgeous white tiger with long blonde hair and eyes that held wisdom beyond her years. She'd been married to Clariborn Anniston, a black panther, and had a tiny tiger cub of her own.

The small family had had a small cabana on the coast and was the only family that lived anywhere near the ocean. This had been a long time before the town had started to become more populated.

The cub had been older than Sorciere by a few years, but had absolutely loved showing him the beach and hoisting him onto her shoulders when he was too small to see over the rock pile. She'd helped him find old seashells along the sandy beach (which Sorciere keeps near the back of the cave) and helped him fend off a grumpy crab that had gone after his tiny paws. The two had splashed in the shallows for hours while Amber Spots caught up with the local news and her two friends.

When the sun had started to go down, Amber Spots had given her farewell and good wishes to Esther and Clariborn and stepped outside. She had called for her son happily, sounding all the more joyful than when she'd first arrived.

Sorciere felt saddened. He'd never really had a friend before and the pretty cub had treated him so nicely, showing him all of the mysterious natural beauties around the beach.

He'd looked at the cub with sad, dark eyes and fought the urge to cry. He understood, though young, that his mother had plenty of things to do being a popular mage, and he could never spend much time with other children when she was out. He blinked more furiously when he touched upon the thought that this could be the last time he'd ever see the tiger cub again.

The cub had looked at him sympathetically before cupping his cheeks with her pudgy fingers and giving him a tiny kiss on the lips. She was accustomed to a very affectionate family, one where kisses were not seen as romantic. She'd decided that Sorciere could use a little love.

Sorciere had felt his face heat up and though he had no concept of romantic attraction, he felt embarrassed, immediately wiping at his lips. The little cub had laughed at him, her laugh breezy like the winds of the beach.

Amber Spots had trotted over, picking up her tiny son and twirling him about and onto her shoulders. He'd let out an indignant squeak as she hooted happily, spinning and dancing across the sand, on her way home.

The last he'd ever seen the cub or her family was that day. He remembered seeing the pretty girl watching him from her house, giggling and waving. He'd looked into her parents' kind eyes and felt instantly warmed from the top of his head to the tip of his tail.

Sorciere had never returned to that beach, but apparently, he had remembered it with enough clarity that he could form a perfectly accurate recreation of it in his dreamscape.

Sorciere bounced on his heels excitedly.

He had an idea and it involved taking a long walk around Juniper.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

The next morning, Sorciere jumped to his paws, stretching and quickly getting dressed. Before he left the cave, a sparkle towards the back of the cave caught his attention. Turning slowly and walking over, he casted a quick light spell and illuminated the cave.

On the floor, he spotted his collection of meaningful belongings: the seashells, a few of his mother's clothes, and his mother's favorite hat. The hat was blue with a green band around it; clipped to the band was a sparkly yellow star. It looked like a modern depiction of a witch's hat without the gross spiders and cobwebs attached to it.

Sorciere's eyes flickered back over to the entrance of the cave. He paused, mulling over his choices before smiling to himself and plucking the blue hate from the floor. He placed it atop his head and flicked his ears experimentally.

A perfect fit.

Sorciere felt a happy bliss pass over his body for the first time since he'd met the tiger cub.

He began to walk to the entrance again only to turn again with a second thought and grabbed the shells quickly. He shoved them into his jeans pocket and finally emerged from the cave.

Sorciere stood in the warm sun, savoring the simpleness of the action for a moment. Feeling rather giddy, he started to run towards Juniper with a hop skip.

He might finally have the solution to the seemingly unsolvable problem.

The mage reached the beginnings of town quickly, thanking his enhanced speed spell under his breath. He opened his eyes widely and began to inspect every last detail of town, committing it to memory as soon as he spotted it.

His memory was a lot better than any normal person's due to his magic blood and he found that every tiny can, building, or person was locked away from further use. The blue bird above his head, got it. The trash can that was overflowing with old newspapers, got it. The tan caracal that was hurtling toward him at high speed, got-

"Move, dude!"

Sorciere had hardly registered the words before he found himself sprawled out on the concrete, his head aching. His vision was blurry and the entire world seemed to be spinning around him. He could hardly lift his head.

"Nnnn..." Sorciere groaned, clutching his head as he laid on the sidewalk pitifully.

The caracal who had apparently been the blunt force that had knocked Sorciere onto the ground jumped to his paws, brushing his scuffed jeans irritably.

"Aw, seriously? These are new, dude. Thanks a lot." The caracal growled, his voice deep. He adjusted the red baseball cap atop his head. "I gave you a fair warning that I was coming."

Sorciere groaned again, catching the caracal's attention. The tan feline looked down with dark blue eyes that slowly narrowed in concern. His scratched at the mop of brown hair that fell out of his cap messily.

"Aw jeez, are you okay?"

The caracal offered a hand to Sorciere, looking into the mage's half-lidded eyes. The yellow cat noticed that the word ‘love’ had been inked into the caracal’s tan fur. How odd…

Sorciere huffed and took his hand hesitantly. The caracal pulled the yellow cat to his feet with surprising strength.

"Yes, I suppose I'm fine." Sorciere spoke hurriedly, eager to get moving on his quest. "Everything is fine."

He began to walk away, but the caracal grabbed him by the bottom of his shirt, tugging him back.

"Hold up, jumpy. You sure you're fine? I mean, you look a little rattled. What's with the hat and shirt? You look like you came from an eighties Halloween party." The blue eyed feline gave Sorciere a half-inquisitive, half-amused look as he took in the mage's outfit.

"I assure you that I am fine, sir. Now if you don't mind, I have important business to attend to-"

Another tug on his shirt caused Sorciere to fall back into the caracal's chest. He let out an indignant squeak, turning to look up at the tan cat angrily.

"Geez, don't look so ticked, dude. Anyways, I just wanted to ask what your name was. I've never seen you around here. Are you like some weird transfer student?"

Sorciere stomped his foot irritably.

"I'll have you know that I've lived her far longer than you have, you big oaf. My name is Sorciere; sore...seer,” The yellow cat pronounced slowly. “Do not forget it." With a sniff, he closed his eyes and turned his head snootily. "Now if you don't mind, I must be going."

The caracal loosened his grip on Sorciere's shirt, still holding him close enough to speak.

"Yeah? Well, Sorcy, you're dead meat if you go into town looking like that. My name's Vitani. Why don't I give you my number just in case you get jumped or something? A lot of the people around here are sort of intimidated by me."

“Really...?” Sorciere thought incredulously.

"I have no 'telephone' if that is what you are referring to. In any case, I shall be fine. I have an overabundance of good luck. Now if you'd kindly let me go..."

Vitani paused, cocking an eyebrow before shaking his head and letting go of Sorciere who shot forward without the force of his captor holding him back. He stumbled before righting himself and adjusting his shirt like a small child who'd been wronged.

"Good luck out there, weirdo." Vitani called unhelpfully.

Sorciere simply kept moving, looking up at the towering buildings around him.

This could take a while...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~☆

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorciere, Amber Spots, Jezzy, Clariborn, Esther, Sylvia, and Vitani all belong to me. 
> 
> Vitani is such a doof.


	4. ★

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jezzy receives an unwanted visitor...and does someone's job for them.

Jezzy stretched his arms over his head and yawned powerfully. His backbone strained against the metal rod that straightened it and he let his arms drop, deciding not to hurt himself this early in the morning. His tired multicolored eyes shifted lazily around his room, taking in the simple sights.

His glasses were still on the bedside drawer along with his lens cleaner and some chapstick. His robe was still flung haphazardly over the one chair in his house that wasn't wooden. Everything was still the same.

His hand reached out and grabbed his trusty glasses, setting them atop his muzzle.

Jezzy threw one leg over the bed and then the other. He stood with a sigh and walked over to his kitchen to make some tea. As he began to heat the water, his tail twitched nervously. Something felt off and, although there was nothing out of place inside the house, Jezzy felt compelled to take a look outside.

Abandoning his teapot, the two-toned feline trotted over to the front door. His shaky paw hovered over the door knob for a minute before he steeled himself and opened the door.

"W-what the hell?!"

From where Jezzy was standing in the doorway, he could see a yellow cat standing on his lawn. He appeared to be inspecting the roof. A blue witch's hat was perched atop his head and he was wearing a faded AC/DC shirt. The jeans he wore were scuffed and old and, Jezzy thought, about two sizes too big for him.

The cat held himself with a bit of a self important flair. His ears were perked up and his bushy orange tail whisked from side to side leisurely as if he had all the time in the world. The creepy cat seemed to emanate a mysterious aura and it made Jezzy feel about two feet shorter than he was.

"U-um, e-excuse me?! What are you doing in front of my house?!" Jezzy cried, his voice rising with distress. He hadn't had any issues with overly nosy people since the Delgato's moved out almost a year ago. Where had this stranger come from and what was he doing here in the first place? "H-hello? Answer me o-or I'm calling the police!"

Jezzy's voice cracked nervously, which seemed to catch the stranger's attention. His dark, almost black eyes flickered down to meet Jezzy's and they locked. Jezzy wasn't one for making eye contact with just anyone, but he couldn't look away no matter how hard he tried.

It was like this stranger had put a spell on him.

The yellow cat rubbed at his chin for a second before dipping his head. Jezzy's eyes blinked quickly as he realized he hadn't closed them since the stranger had looked at him. His chest rose and fell with panting breaths. The yellow cat was all but intimidating.

With a sideways smirk and a tilted head, the yellow cat gave Jezzy a once-over. Jezzy flinched, feeling the other cat's powerful gaze on him. It was as if he was standing in front of this stranger completely naked. He felt so… exposed.

"I'm sorry to trespass, but I've… been on vacation for a bit and I'm currently trying to indulge in the sights of Juniper. I haven't bothered you, have I?"

The cat's voice was hauntingly intense though he looked very lax from Jezzy’s point of view. It was as if he had whispered directly into his ears.

"U-um, actually, you have bothered me. You're in my yard. What sights could you possibly be seeing out here? All of the things that tourists come to see in Juniper are in town."

The cat cocked an ear, looking at Jezzy playfully.

"You're here, are you not?"

Jezzy's ears flattened and his yellow eye twitched noticeably.

"W-what is that supposed to mean?"

The yellow cat shrugged, walking over to Jezzy's Dusty Millers.

"Take it as you will."

Jezzy watched in horror as the stranger began to rub at the fronds of the plant, brushing away the trademark 'dust' and exposing the green leaves underneath.

"Interesting."

"What's interesting is that you're still here even after I threatened to call the cops!" Jezzy squeaked indignantly, his paws already itching to race back into the house and report the stranger. The two-toned cat held a strong sense of justice and he was sure that this trespasser had still not given a valid reason to be on his land.

Momentarily distracted from inspecting Jezzy's plants, the stranger looked up, his eyes calm.

"I don't think you will. Besides, I'll be gone before the authorities get here. I'm simply here to look. You don't have to mind me so much. The other one didn't get so worked up and I ran into him. I'm being rather thoughtful right now, I'd say. Aren't you city-goers typically sleeping at this time?"

Jezzy's tail lashed back and forth irritably.

"Some of us have jobs!"

And I'm not one of them, Jezzy thought to himself.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he squinted his eyes at the golden feline.

"Who even are you? I've never seen you on my paper route before."

The cat's eyes sparkled with amusement as if antagonizing Jezzy was fun to him. His eyes trailed up past Jezzy's form in the doorway and he peered inside the house intently. Jezzy huffed and shouldered his way further into the cat's wandering gaze.

If anything was a warning sign for an attacker or robber, it was this.

"I told you that I am vacationing. I do not live here." He crossed his arms after adjusting the witch hat atop his head. "And my name is Sorciere. What about yours?"

Jezzy blinked incredulously.

Are you kidding me? His name is Sorciere and he's wearing a witch's hat? Is this some kind of dumb joke...or late Halloween costume?

"What does it matter to you, Sorciere? You're probably just going to rob me blind and leave anyways. Might as well get it over with."

Sorciere's gaze turned inquisitive as if he couldn't understand Jezzy's hostile and defensive tone in the slightest. He brought one of his hands to the back of his head and brushed his fingers through his thick fur.

"Rob you? Now why would I... Listen, boy. I have no intention of causing you harm. Quite the opposite really. I can't truly… express to you what I'm doing here, but I'm quite certain you will thank me in the long run. You will just simply have to trust me."

Jezzy's glare faltered and he chewed on his bottom lip unsurely.

Everything that this cat was spewing sounded preposterous, unbelievable, a total lie, yet a small part of Jezzy trusted him. Perhaps it was the urgency in Sorciere's eyes or the mysterious aura to him. Jezzy had no idea what it was, but he felt compelled to believe him.

"I… uh..." Jezzy swallowed, his gaze softening. He felt awful for being so angsty to this strange cat all of a sudden. His multi-colored eyes shifted to the side and he dared not look into Sorciere's eyes again. "My name is Jezebelle."

A small part of Jezzy wondered why he had given Sorciere, a complete and total stranger, his real name. Hardly anyone aside from his old teachers and a few of his close friends knew that he was named this way. He hated to tell people because he often got teased for it.

So why did I tell him?

The cloudy desperation in Sorciere's eyes dissipated and he blinked curiously at Jezzy. His smirk had morphed into a somewhat friendly smile though it still seemed to tilt upwards on the side.

"How peculiar. Jezebelle is a very unique name for a boy." Sorciere blinked. "Unless you identify differently."

Jezzy's tail flicked with intrigue. No one had ever reacted to his name this politely. Usually, he was immediately called distasteful names or mocked for having a feminine name, but Sorciere just seemed curious. He also had the decency to ask about his identity.

Probably because he wants to steal mine... The negative part of Jezzy's mind scoffed.

"No, no, I-I identify as a… boy… I guess... I mean, I'm not very stereotypically masculine, but I am a boy and I feel like a boy so-"

Sorciere held up a hand.

"What pronouns do you wish to be referred to as?"

Jezzy blinked, licking his bottom lip nervously.

"He, him, his… if it's no trouble."

Sorciere nodded, throwing his arms in a shrug.

"Then that is what I shall refer to you as. Gender does not matter all that much to me. I have no preference as to what people refer to me as, myself. I am simply Sorciere. It seems like you civilians take this gender business too seriously." Sorciere flicked his ears. "Well, most of you. I ran into a young girl this morning who I mistook for a boy and did I ever get a lecture. I hope to not make the same mistake twice with you."

Jezzy dipped his head, suddenly feeling shy.

"Haha, yeah... I guess so... Mom and Dad wanted a girl so they sort of… treated me like one. That's why my name is the way it is. I don't mind it, but I prefer my nickname, Jezzy. It's what everyone calls me." He gave Sorciere a sheepish smile.

Why do I feel so comfortable around him? He was just destroying my plants.

"Well, I think both names are fine. I'll call you what you like." Sorciere strode forward, a hand extended towards Jezzy. A coy expression had taken over the friendly one and it made Jezzy turn a dark shade of red. "Would you mind if I took a look inside your home? It looks decent from the outside and I simply wish to know if it's just as decent on the interior."

Jezzy let out an awkward giggle and nodded slowly.

"Th-thanks, I-I guess...I guess you can come in..."

Sorciere did not need further assurance.

"Great. Thank you, Jezzy."

Jezzy rubbed at his cheeks, attempting to rid himself of the heat that was there. How could Sorciere control his emotions so easily? It took years for him and Mia to become friends, or at least close friends. This was ridiculous.

Jezzy almost felt like he was being controlled somehow.

Sorciere jumped onto the stoop with one leap and strode into Jezzy's house with a pleased expression on his face. His gaze trailed over Jezzy's furniture and lingered on the whistling teapot.

"You should probably attend to that." Sorciere stated. Jezzy nodded.

"Oh, geez! I'm so stupid!" Jezzy exclaimed, rushing over to the teapot and turning off the oven. He grasped the handle of the teapot in his hand and walked over to the counter. He turned his head to see Sorciere looking at him with interest. He blushed more intensely. "I… uh… Do you like tea? I-it's peppermint."

Sorciere nodded, walking over to Jezzy's small table and plopping down like he had been here several times before. He leaned back in the wooden chair and stretched.

"I do like tea, thank you." Sorciere grunted, flopping into a relaxed position after his muscles had been thoroughly stretched.

Although Jezzy had never offered to grab him a cup of tea, he felt compelled to do so anyhow. Stretching on the tips of his toes, he grabbed two glass mugs from the cupboard above his head. He closed the cupboard with the back of his hand and dropped his heels back to the floor.

His ears twitched. He knew he was being watched. He felt that at any moment he was going to mess up and make a fool out of himself.

Placing the mugs onto the counter carefully, he grabbed the teapot and poured the water into each of the cups. He dropped two tea bags into the cups and used a spoon to stir the liquid. The scent of peppermint wafted to Jezzy's nose and he inhaled deeply.

His head cleared and his shoulders felt noticeably less tense. His eyes drooped slightly, but he didn't feel tired. His tail whisked back and forth calmly.

Absentmindedly, he blew onto the teacups. He made sure to be light so as not to splash the tea out of the cups, warming his paws in the process.

I wish I could stay like this forever...

Sorciere cleared his throat and Jezzy jumped, his tail fluffing up noticeably. He'd completely forgotten about his house guest.

Jezzy grabbed the cups by the handles and quickly walked over to the table, handing Sorciere one and holding the other near his chest.

"S-sorry! I totally spaced out and-"

"Relax. Tea calms you as it is meant to and you look like you need a breather. You seem to be an individual that is ruled by anxiety. You must take time to yourself every once in a while."

Jezzy opened his mouth to speak before closing it and acknowledging Sorciere with a shy nod.

He wasn't used to this much coddling. Even Mia would set him straight without much hesitation and sugar coating; Sorciere seemed to be babying him.

Hesitantly, Jezzy took a sip of the tea. The flavor of mint coated his senses and he breathed a soft sigh into his cup.

Sorciere took a drink as well, savoring it a bit less than Jezzy had. He finished his glass quickly before nodding and standing up.

"That was very good. Thank you, Jezzy. It is much appreciated." He gave Jezzy a smile, making him feel like a puddle on the floor. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've done what I needed to do. I must be going-"

Jezzy's mind was almost as foggy as his glasses, but he did hear the word 'going'. His eyes widened and he was, once again, in overdrive.

"W-wait, you're leaving? Already?! You just got here and we've barely talked and-"

Sorciere chuckled.

"You act as if this is the last time you'll be seeing me. I assure you that it is not. I apologize for leaving you like this, but if, as you say, you have a job, you must be going. Besides, I wouldn't want you to alert the authorities." Sorciere winked at Jezzy and the poor cat felt even worse than before about his untrusting behavior.

People like Dexion are the ones who deserve treatment like that, not Sorciere.

Something about the yellow cat struck him as trustworthy. Jezzy felt like Sorciere could protect him. That was a quality he liked in people.

"I-I'm really sorry about that, b-but if you come by later, I could make something for supper or-"

Sorciere once again cut off Jezzy with a ginger wave of a paw.

"I mustn't stay. I promise that you will see more of me in the near future, but as for now, I cannot stop what I've been entrusted to do. This will all make sense to you someday, but for now you must let me go. It was nice to meet you, Jezebelle."

Jezzy stopped talking at the mention of that name. His jaws were open, but no words could come out.

Sorciere took this as his sign to leave. Giving Jezzy a polite wave, Sorciere bowed and waltzed over to the door, leaving his cup of tea on the table. Jezzy scrambled over to the entrance as he broke out of his stunned state. He peered out the doorway to see Sorciere walking down the street.

The cat brought up his hand and gave it a placid wave. Jezzy leaped back from the door as it appeared to shut on its own, nearly hitting him in the nose. His wide eyes inspected the wooden door, but nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

"W-what the heck...?" Jezzy whined, too bewildered to use a stronger word. He rubbed at his eyes before shaking his head and walking to the window. He shifted the curtain out of his way and looked outside once again.

Sorciere was nowhere to be seen.

It was like he had disappeared into thin air.

Jezzy sighed heavily. He allowed the curtain to drift back into place before turning to his closet and searching for an outfit.

What was with that guy? He was so… weird. What did he want with my plants and my house? Why did he want to be let inside? There are so many unanswered questions...

Jezzy blinked as he picked out an old Led Zeppelin sweatshirt that was a size too big for him. It smelled of expensive cologne.

And why does he remind me of my stupid ex boyfriend?

Tossing the sweater onto the floor, he frowned, picking out a pistachio colored sweatshirt instead. He shimmied out of his pajamas and threw the sweater on without a shirt underneath. He did this often and no one seemed to notice, so he didn't plan on changing it anytime soon.

Isn't it strange that I had a dream about Maru and then met Sorciere not even a day later? Those two are so similar. It's almost like they're twins.

Jezzy chewed on his bottom lip. He gave the discarded sweater on the ground a sad glance before picking it up and hanging it back in the closet.

Just a coincidence.

Jezzy's hands grasped a pair of black sweatpants and he pulled them out of the closet, comparing them to what he had on now. With a nod, he set them aside and fished out a pair of boxers. He threw them on quickly, hating when he was exposed in the slightest. He then pulled on the sweatpants and began to let his mind wander again.

“He doesn't look like him though. I've never seen a cat so yellow… Yellow… Was he the yellow flash I saw yesterday? Why was he in such a rush?” Jezzy paused before thinking with a tinge of hurt, “And why doesn't he remember me? I might not have talked to him, but I'm the only one who looks like… this.”

Jezzy grabbed his clip on earrings and snapped them into place.

I'm over thinking all of this. What happened was I let a stranger into the house and let him find out much more about me than he ever needed to know. Now if I get in some sort of trouble, it's my fault.

Jezzy puffed out a heavy breath before grabbing his star necklace and throwing it over his head.

It's no use in worrying about it now. I just have to let whatever happens happen. Besides, Daichi is going to kill me if I don't get to the printing place soon. It's his turn to deliver the paper and God knows he hates doing it.

With that final thought, Jezzy hurried out the door with his wallet, phone, and keys. After making sure his door was locked, he abandoned ship and went to start his day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Another day spent doing nothing but Daichi's dumb job. I'm not even getting paid much.” Jezzy thought mutinously, letting his fingers drift over his wallet where a measly three dollars was located. “I should get paid so much more considering Daichi doesn't do his job… and I don't even work for the printing press!”

A faint summer breeze drifted through the air, tousling Jezzy's bangs softly. The sound of a few children playing at the public pool sounded from the right, but Jezzy could have cared less. He was in no mood for swimming.

With a glance towards the alley that Jezzy usually took home, the two-toned cat quickly made up his mind. He served to the left and decided to take the scenic route home. A school bell rang just as he passed by and a few stragglers that walked home or took the late bus hurried out, looking shy.

Jezzy related to them. When he was in middle school, he begged his mother to let him walk home instead of riding the bus where he was bullied mercilessly. He had lived in Aspen, a town much smaller than Juniper where everyone knew everyone. He'd gone to Juniper's school, but the bus ride was hell. Every day as the bell rang for late bus kids to leave, he'd dart out from the late study hall and get home as fast as possible.

Jezzy watched as the last student in the school walked out with a tired expression on their face. They were wearing a baggy grey sweatshirt and a pair of darker grey sweatpants. It was Jezzy couture.

The student was a cheetah with a long tail that had a distinctive white tip. They had black ears, and a strange marking resembling a peace sign on their face. Thick, black framed glasses framed their bright blue eyes and matching tear track markings trailed down their muzzle. A mop of frizzy yellow and black fur sat atop their head.

Jezzy grimaced as the student turned and began walking the way that Jezzy was going. Being on the same street, Jezzy knew this was going to be awkward.

He began to walk again, trying to stay far behind the student so as not look look creepy and began to daydream.

Jezzy thought about being in school. He remembered a few of his classmates, but barely kept in contact with many of them. He knew Mia from school as well as a canine named Jayden who had a kid of his own now. They both seemed to have everything figured out.

He knew Vixen from school and they were still friends, but Maru was almost an unspoken name anymore.

There were Maru's brother and sister who has seemingly dropped off the Earth.

Delancy was still a tiny kid when Jezzy was in high school.

Jezzy shrugged his shoulders back to relax them, not liking that his thoughts were so busy. He wishes he could just relax as Sorciere had said, but it was so hard...

"My God, what do you want with me?!"

Jezzy blinked with surprise and he looked to see that the student in front of him was pointing at him accusingly. Their expression was all but friendly. Her left hand was set on a lump in her sweater and she pulled out a bottle of something from it.

"Come on! You better tell me why you're following me or you can say hello to my pepper spray!" The cheetah snarled, their voice a few notches higher than Jezzy's.

Jezzy held up his hands defensively, taking a step back.

"N-no, please don't spray me! I promise I wasn't following you. I-I was just taking this way home, I swear."

The cheetah snorted.

"Then you could have passed me at any time. Besides, I've never seen you around this part of town before. Who even are you?"

Jezzy scuffed his heel on the ground, feeling highly uncomfortable.

"I-I'm Jezzy," He gulped before trying to remain polite. "And you are?"

"Lainey. Lainey Bohlen. Now you can go home to Toby and tell him I am not and will not ever be interested in doing anything remotely sexual with him. First that stupid yellow cat and now you? You guys are honestly such pigs!" Lainey growled, her voice faltering slightly. Her fists clenched and unclenched.

"W-what? N-no! I promise I'm not a predator or anything. I don't even know who 'Toby' is. I was just trying to get home and I didn't want to seem rude by pushing past you or anything so I just sort of… fell back. I don't normally take this route, but I'm tired of being jumped by… well, someone I'd rather not talk about."

Lainey's eyes searched Jezzy's gaze for a hidden menace or sign of lying, but found none. The fire in her eyes died down a bit and she placed the pepper spray back in her sweater.

"You swear that you're not going to hurt me?"

"I swear. I don't even think I could hurt you. You'd probably kick my tail." Jezzy whimpered softly.

Lainey's gaze softened and her lips curled up only slightly in what could have been a smile or a smirk. It was like she was stuck between 'Ha ha, this guy is funny,' and 'I COULD kick your tail, furball’.

"Mm... You're name's Jezzy then, huh? You have a last name?" Lainey questioned, her black furred ears twitching lightly.

Jezzy nodded slowly, still a bit intimidated by this small, presumably middle schooler.

"C-Catnip. Lainey Bohlen, right?"

Lainey nodded.

"Yeah. What's the deal with you anyways? You look like a high schooler, but I've never seen you in any of my classes. Are you a graduate?"

Ah, so she's a high schooler.

Jezzy nodded.

"I graduated around last year. I don't remember you either."

Lainey looked down at the ground.

"You wouldn't remember me. I moved here this year with my brother, Charlie. We live with our aunt, Minnie. We're sort of on the outskirts of town."

Jezzy's eyes widened with recollection.

"So you're the family that lives near my house. It's about a mile or two away. I forgot the distance. I walk to work every day and walk home every night. We've probably never seen each other because I usually take shortcuts."

Lainey shook her head with disbelief.

"Don't you know that 'shortcuts' are the gateway to getting mugged in a big town like this? I hear there's a lot of gang activity in these parts of town."

Jezzy's lip curled and he instinctively grabbed for his wallet before letting his hand relax.

"Tell me about it..."

Lainey scratched her chin before flicking her tail awkwardly.

"Well, I guess I should get going. Minnie will be worried if I don't get home. And don't even get me started on Charlie. You know little brothers," She paused before giving Jezzy a shy glance. "And, I, uh... I'm sorry I almost pepper sprayed you… and yelled at you."

Jezzy shrugged.

"Happens all the time."

"Really?"

"No."

Lainey smiled sheepishly before dipping her head.

"Well, uh, see you around?"

Jezzy nodded, suddenly feeling shy himself.

"Y-yeah, sure!"

Another smile lit up Lainey's tired face.

"Great! Talk to you later, Jezzy."

Lainey turned and had only taken a step before Jezzy thought of something.

"W-wait!"

The cheetah stopped and turned curiously.

"Did you say something about a yellow cat following you?"

Lainey hesitated before nodding.

"I see. Well, uh, I had sort of a similar experience. I wouldn't worry about him too much, but, uh, maybe keep your eyes out for him?"

The high schooler milled over those words before nodding again and sending Jezzy a small wave. She turned and began walking home again, sending Jezzy one last glance over her shoulder.

Jezzy stood still for a moment, thinking about everything that had happened today.

It seemed like Sorciere was everywhere and Jezzy was willing to bet it wasn't because of 'sightseeing'.

Suddenly feeling more dread than before, the two-toned cat decided to pay a visit to one of his closest friend's house and unwind a little.

Dylan, I hope you're ready for me...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank god for my editor.


	5. ☆

Sorciere trotted into his cave with pep in his step. He had finally finished the first half of his plan to save Juniper's residents and now had to put the final half to action.

It had taken forever (well, three days) to memorize all of the buildings and structures in Juniper and even longer to memorize the placement of them. Sorciere was very thankful for his enhanced memory and was sure he would not be able to go through with his plans if he was not magic-blooded.

With a bounce, Sorciere rolled onto his mattress and closed his eyes, willing sleep to find him quickly. For now, he could do nothing but think until the familiar pull of drowsiness took over and brought him to the dreamscape.

Sorciere's mind drifted to the people he'd met today. Bright and early in the morning, he'd be found by a two-toned cat with major trust issues. He'd been merely inspecting the exterior of said cat's house when the cat, Jezzy, had began shouting at him and using petty threats against him.

Sorciere hadn't been concerned. He could sense an inner vulnerability past Jezzy's partially angry demeanor. That was the path he needed to take to what he needed done.

It had only taken a whispered spell of low power to lower Jezzy's defenses. The effects had been almost instantaneous. Jezzy had apologized and even invited him inside of his home for some tea. He had acted much like a shy child once his defenses had worn down.

Though it wasn't something that Sorciere did a lot, it was quite easy to manipulate people's feelings. Most of the time, Sorciere believed he could do it without using magic.

The victims usually fell apart as soon as they knew they were being used or toyed with though. That was something Sorciere didn't like to put up with. He might not be a mean-spirited person, but he wasn't one to comfort people often.

Whilst going through with his inspection of town today, he had needed to use persuasion and charm to win the trust of several people.

There was the small child that had fallen to pieces when he admitted he didn't have candy with him. He has used this excuse to waltz into the child's yard to inspect her house. At first, she was apprehensive, but at the promise of something she didn't have, they immediately opened up.

There was also a teenager that had been working at a local motel. She'd been very friendly to Sorciere and even thought she might have had a small crush on him. He'd used that to his advantage, complimenting her to no end while he inspected the rooms of the motel. He'd then abruptly left the building, leaving her in a state of mild confusion and hurt.

And Jezzy, he'd been… different. Sorciere could sense an inner pain in him that seemed to be connected to romance in some way, shape, or form. He didn't open up as easily as the others, but it hadn't taken him very long anyways. Sorciere almost felt bad that he didn't stick around.

Sorciere's ear twitched as he fell deeper into unconsciousness.

“They'll thank me for this once they know the danger they're in…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~☆

Sorciere's dark eyes blinked open and he grinned as he took in the sight of his dreamscape. The beach had been replaced with an expansive and scenic view of Juniper from his cave. Sorciere turned to see that every last detail of the cave had been replicated from the paintings on the wall to the mattress beneath him.

Standing with a bit of self pride, he raced outside of the cave and was pleased to see that Juniper looked exactly how it did when he was in the waking world. As he ran down the grassy hill and towards the start of town, he breathed in deeply. Even the scent was the same.

As Sorciere's paws finally met concrete, he looked up to see the towering buildings of Juniper. He could see the tops of the skyscrapers, the smoke rising from a house on the outskirts of town, and the tiny bell that sat upon the top of the entrance of the local cafe.

"Sorciere, you have really outdone yourself this time." The mage announced, puffing his chest out. "Now to move the people in."

The crafty mage had discovered a spell to transport the spirits of people into an astral realm. As he was sleeping in the real world, his spirit was very much so awake in this dreamy realm. Anything could happen to his body out there and he would remain safe right where he was. Of course, he could never leave this place once his real body was killed off, but that was only a side effect to something much bigger and better.

If Sorciere could transport the spirits of all of Juniper's residents to this astral plane, he would no longer have to worry about protecting them outside of the dream. They would remain here, perfectly safe and going about their days as if nothing had happened. Their homes and workplaces would all be exactly the same as how they'd left them.

The best part, Sorciere thought, was that they would not age or become ill in this world. They would be forever the age they came here as and that would never change. They wouldn't have to worry about losing their loved ones or their senses. They'd be alright forever.

Perhaps the only problem about this development was the fact that there was no way for Sorciere to accurately create a replica of the entire world in this plane. There was only just enough room for Juniper and the entire world was much bigger than this one town.

Sorciere shrugged. He did not care much about this predicament. He knew not of the places around and far away from Juniper. He only knew Juniper and that was all he cared about. So what if the world was destroyed? His home and his people were safe.

"Well, that's quite enough of dawdling," Sorciere admonished. "I should start with the projection immediately so as not to worry about this problem any longer."

The yellow cat spotted a park bench further ahead of him and walked over, sitting down casually and wrapping his tail around his legs. He leaned back against the bench and closed his eyes, focusing his mind on the residents of Juniper that he'd met during his inspection of town.

Sorciere strained slightly and, to his relief, he heard someone drop onto the grass behind him. He opened his eyes and turned his head, giving the stranger a wave.

The first person to be brought into Dream Juniper was a golden retriever, seemingly a few years older than Sorciere. The yellow mage had seen this resident near the park to begin with. He had been taking a walk with a peach colored feline and discussing astrology. It had interested Sorciere, but not enough to speak with the duo.

The dog didn't appear to be all that confused or startled. In fact, he looked rather calm. His eyes were tinted pink and his tongue lolled haphazardly out of his mouth.

"Well, this is new..." The dog huffed, laughing to himself before seemingly choking on his spit.

Sorciere rolled his eyes.

Perhaps I should start with people I care more about, he thought to himself. Like yours truly. Let's see how many people I can fit here.

With a clap, Sorciere dismissed the golden retriever from the dreamscape. In his place, seven doubles of himself appeared. They blinked at him with the same intensity he had in his own eyes. None of them spoke as they seemed to know they were only test subjects.

Sorciere frowned.

I was sure I summoned ten...

Straining harder, Sorciere attempted to summon three more of himself. His muscles seemed to scream in protest and immediately, a horrible migraine pounded in his temple.

Sorciere could not be swayed, only trying hard and even saying the spell out loud though he usually didn't have to.

Still, only seven copies stood in front of him.

Dropping to the ground, Sorciere panted.

Perhaps I'm only allowed seven doubles of myself. I'm sure I can still summon as many villagers as I want to.

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the Sorciere clones. Instead, he attempted to summon ten random villagers from memory.

The nice girl from the motel... The canine with the multi-colored glasses... Vitani... The child that had been denied candy... Amber Spots... Clariborn and Esther...

As soon as Esther dropped onto the grass, Sorciere immediately felt the pain in his temple again. With a cry of distress, he dismissed the seven very confused residents. He clutched at his head and thought with dismay that this was the extent of what he could do.

I can only transport SEVEN?! He thought with horror. There's much more than that in town. What will happen to them?

Sorciere gulped, feeling sick to his stomach. He had managed to find a way to save Juniper, but now he couldn't even save the people who also called it home?

Sorciere shook his head.

He HAD to save some of them. If he could only save eight, including himself, he would have to do so.

But who? They all hardly know me? Who deserves the right to live more than the others?

Sorciere's mind drifted to the people he'd met in the past few days. He found that there were a few that stood out to him, people he'd spoken to and gotten to know only a little better than the other strangers on the street.

He could only think of three.

Sorciere felt his heart drop.

He had to save the most people he could. He had to find others. He had to find those that stood out in the crowd that called Juniper home.

Sorciere took a deep breath, trying not to scream out in frustration.

Seven...

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Sorciere sighed heavily, padding along the sidewalk. As he looked up, he saw a sunset colored feline waving at him from across the street. She was pushing a rather old look calico cat in a wheelchair who gave Sorciere a friendly smile.

Sorciere gave a small wave back and turned to look at the other side of the street. A small denim colored cat wearing a hoodie three sizes too big for him toddled after a pink and red feline that appeared to be related to him in some way. The pink and red cat was holding a paper airplane and mimicking a pilot. It appeared that the younger feline was pretending to be a bird.

They have so much life ahead of them... Sorciere through despondently.

He shook his head, deciding to focus on the sidewalk ahead of him instead.

A bright blue canine was holding hands with a much duskier blue cat. The blue wolf was very expressive, looking more than a little mischievous while the cat looked plain grumpy. She looked to be flustered by the hand holding, but said nothing.

Sorciere bit his bottom lip.

He couldn't look anywhere without feeling guilty.

“Don't feel so down, Sociere. You've been looking for ways to save this town since you received the omen. If there was a solution to save the world, it would have made itself clear by now. Don't grow attached to these people and you won't feel so bad.” Sorciere thought to himself. He steeled himself, using a quick spell on himself to keep him focused on the task at hand.

“Only seven…”

The yellow mage continued to walk, putting one foot in front of the other. He examined passersby scrutinizingly, sizing up the perfect candidates for saving. He had seen no one special so far, none that had caught his attention.

Sorciere thought he might have better luck if he consulted the local librarians and asked for their opinion on the people around the area. Ducking into an alleyway as a shortcut, he peered at the graffitied walls of the buildings that created this passage.

There was a 'D' with a circle that was spray painted in large print against the wall. An ominous collection of gashes across the marking was present. It seemed that whoever 'D' was wasn’t very popular in this area.

Suddenly, Sorciere jumped back as a shadow pounced down from the stairs to a closed off apartment.

The shadow was crouched for a moment before standing their full height. They were only a tiny bit shorter than Sorciere was and their stance was anything but friendly. As they stepped into what little sunlight filtered through the two buildings nearly touching roofs, Sorciere could see them clearly.

The aggressor was a primarily blue feline with white markings across her body. Her teeth were sharp and she held herself with great confidence. A dagger was strapped against her side by a belt and one of her hands hovered over it.

"Howdy, stranger." The feline purred, her voice sultry. Her tongue flickered across her yellowish teeth and she grinned maliciously. "Don't think I've seen you around these parts before."

Sorciere blinked slowly, his face strangely calm.

"I could say the same to you. Now, if you don't mind moving, I have things to do. Things much more important than dealing with street urchins."

The blue feline laughed though it sounded more like a raspy growl. Her eyes were lit up with excitement as if she couldn’t wait to sink something sharp into any exposed part of Sorciere's body.

Sorciere couldn't have cared less.

"Who are you anyways? I like to get to know people before I rob 'em blind."

Sorciere rolled his eyes.

"Like I would give you the pleasure of knowing my name. Besides, you aren't exactly 'robbing me blind' if I can see you."

The thug's eyes narrowed and she seemed to be a bit more irritated than before.

"You might be pretty, but you sure are annoying as hell. Now stand still and make this easy… or fight back and make this fun" The blue cat licked her lips, her fingers curling over and reaching towards Sorciere.

Sorciere was just about to blow the troubled young cat to oblivion when a near war cry erupted from further down the alley and a flash of orange tackled the blue feline to the ground.

"Yippee ki yay, motherfucker!"

A purely obnoxious and loud voice roared from the orange savior as they pummeled the blue cat fiercely. Sorciere took a step back, thoroughly enjoying the roughing up of his aggressor. She fought back valiantly, but in the end, the other fighter was much too strong for her.

The orange hero, who appeared to be some sort of canine, appeared to know that they were winning, hopping off of the defeated thug with a proud stance. The blue cat hissed angrily, but knew she was beaten, scurrying away as quickly as she could manage with her newly injured leg.

Sorciere watched her retreat and made sure that she was truly gone before turning to his 'savior'.

A very tomboyish character with orange fur from what Sorciere could see, they reminded him very much of a tiger.

They were no such thing, though the stripes were hard to get past. In fact, they looked very much like a wolf with a long muzzle and intense yellow eyes. They had a bushy grey tail with a black arch around the tip which they swished back and forth excitably.

"So... are you gonna thank me or not?" The orange canine asked, crossing their arms and smiling expectantly.

Sorciere blinked, inspecting the canine curiously.

"Ah, yes, I suppose I should. Thank you for… all of that. I am sure I would not have been able to fight her off had she attacked me before you appeared." He lied, trying to flatter his 'hero' as he'd been doing all day.

The wolf grinned, their white teeth glinting in the sunlight. They placed their hands on their hips, their chest puffed out in a show of valor.

Sorciere fought the urge to roll his eyes and kept playing weak.

"I must know the name of that who has saved me. What is your name, kind citizen?"

The orange wolf extended one of their arms and flexed it to show that they were, indeed, very strong. It seemed like they trained regularly and they were very fit.

"The name's Kei Sherline Driscoll; glad I could be of use." The wolf stated gallantly. "If Chispa ever gives you trouble again, just give me a yell, you got me? I'm always around these parts so I'l probably hear ya… probably." They coughed and for a second, their voice had a very feminine tinge to it. "Steff's gang isn't really tough when it comes down to it. Sometimes I think they're bigger babies than Dexion's gang."

Kei stretched their arms over their head and leaned backward until their back could not take it any longer. Though they were tough, they weren't very flexible.

Sorciere noted that in this angle, he could see that Kei was indeed biologically female.

Kei stood up straight once again and put a hand on one of her shoulders, rolling it back and forth and coughing again.

"Well, I should probably get going. I'm scheduled to kick my brother's butt at basketball in about five minutes." Kei smirked though Sorciere could sense a bit of hidden doubt behind her tough facade. "You want my number or something? It might be easier if you just call next time you need help."

Kei extended a hand and Sorciere cautiously took it. Kei rolled her eyes and let go of his hand quickly before extending her hand one more time.

"Not your hand, dude; your phone."

She coughed again. It seemed to be a tic of hers.

Sorciere awkwardly shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.

"I'm sorry, but I do not have a telephone. It seems this town relies a lot on technology, doesn't it?"

Kei gave Sorciere a strange look, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah... This is the twenty-first century, you know. Don't tell me you're one of those weird hipster kids that think they were born in the wrong generation."

Sorciere was highly confused.

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

Kei looked skeptical but simply rolled her eyes and coughed again, turning on her heels.

"Well, whatever. You do you, I guess. If you need me, you know the name." She paused mid-step. "But, I don't know yours. What is your name anyways? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

The orange wolf did not even look back. She simply awaited an answer and continued to cough at random intervals.

"Sorciere. My name is Sorciere." The mage responded with a dip of his head though Kei was still not looking at him. "It was a pleasure to meet you."

Kei shrugged, continuing to walk.

"See ya 'round, Sorce."

"My name's not..."

But Kei had already gone.

Sorciere watched her depart, thinking about everything that had just happened. This civilian had gone out of her way to save him and, although he hadn't exactly needed the help, it was much appreciated. Kei clearly had important things to do, yet she stopped and stayed until he was safe. She even offered her help, much like Vitani had when Sorciere had bumped into him. Though Vitani was a bit more irritating, they both seemed to have good hearts.

They were nothing like Chispa who was all too willing to steal from him and hurt him.

The mage continued to walk down the alley, straightening his shoulders much like Kei had done. 

Perhaps this won't be as hard as I thought.


	6. ★

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jezzy visits one of his closest friends' house to discuss the strange yellow stranger.

The sun had begun to set behind the hills of Juniper and the sky was a pretty mix of sorbet colors that melted into each other. Oranges, pinks, reds, and yellows filled the landscape with warm light that coated everything it could. The shadows on the streets began to stretch further and further and, one by one, the street lights flashed on.

Jezzy had taken a large amount of time getting to his friend's house, careful to skirt around the alleys and shadier buildings of town. His hands fumbled together in his sweater pocket out of nervousness and his tail swished back and forth.

The two-toned cat's eyes darted around the neighborhood, looking for any signs of the local gangs or any troublemakers in general. Finding nothing, Jezzy tried to calm himself. He had to stop overreacting over every little thing if he was ever to focus on anything.

‘Dylan's house isn't too far away from here anyways. I'll be fine if I just pay attention to where I'm going…’ Jezzy reassured himself. ‘Besides, no one's out right now anyways…’

Jezzy had only seen a grand total of five people outside during his travels to his friend's house. He hadn’t recognized any of the passersby, nor were they of any concern to him. People unbeknownst to him would usually make him nervous, but he figured that they were night owls like himself. As long as they stayed on their side of the street, he was fine.

To his right, Jezzy could see the faint glowing sign of the Oak Creek Motel. There were three cars parked outside, one of which Jezzy recognized as belonging to an acquaintance of his. His name was Jayden Perry and he was the single father of a tiny four year old named Reina. Reina was a common face at Mia's Daycare as her father was currently attending daytime classes at the local college in the medical field.

Jezzy felt rather bad for Jayden. As soon as he had graduated, his girlfriend Trixi, became pregnant with their child. Neither of them could even begin to consider abortion so when the tiny pup was born, Trixi gave Jayden custody and skipped town. Jayden was now only 24 and struggling to get his paws on the ground.

‘That's definitely not the life I want.’ Jezzy thought decisively. ‘Kids? At this age? No thank you.’

Jezzy walked past the glowing sign, nearing a large house with yellow lights filtered out through the many windows. As he approached, he could hear the familiar chaos that went on inside of the building. Plates clashing with silverware, televisions and radios blaring simultaneously as if to drown each other out, the yelling and screaming of children, and occasionally the sound of a thud or a smack.

Taking a deep breath, Jezzy climbed onto the porch and hesitated, his hand raised to knock on the door. Before his knuckles could meet the wooden door, he heard a crash and a wail followed by an indignant squeal. It came from very close to the other side of the door.

‘Maybe I should just come back tomorrow…’ Jezzy thought anxiously, beginning to back away from the door. But before he was able to fully retreat , a pair of curtains near the front of the house were pulled back and Jezzy froze as an olive colored feline with bright blue eyes peered out at him. She had choppy brown hair that framed her slim face and she appeared to be dressed in girl scouts attire.

The cat's eyes widened as she spotted Jezzy and she immediately screeched that the house had a visitor.

‘There goes my chances of making it out of here alive.’ Jezzy thought with a wince.

There was a loud medley of metal clinking, chain locks rattling, and small children fighting before the door swung open and a bustling crowd of kids greeted Jezzy. He was almost immediately overwhelmed, taking another step back and putting his hands up in defense.

As the varying range of voices tried to out-talk one another, a taller feline pushed through the wave of children, their eyes squinted. As they tried to shush the younger children, their mossy green eyes met Jezzy's. They gave him a mildly confused, but mostly pleased, expression.

"Jezzy? What are you doing here so late?"

The tan feline's voice was mellow and soft, much like water trickling over stones. It instantly made Jezzy feel a bit more welcome and he took a couple steps forward with an awkward smile.

"It's sort of a long story... Mind if I come in?"

The cat's eyes widened as if they were just noticing that Jezzy was still outside of the house. They immediately shooed the children out of the way and ushered Jezzy inside with flushed cheeks.

"Y-yeah, of course! You're always welcome here."

Jezzy dipped his head, putting his hands back into his sweater pocket as he looked around the house.

Frankly, he was surprised that the owners of the establishment could keep it as clean as it was. There were a few toys and magazines strewn about here and there, but other than that, the house was pretty neat. The floors shone as if they had been freshly polished and there didn't seem to be a speck of dust anywhere. A chandelier hung from the ceiling over the top of a huge dining table that was currently set up with an untouched feast. Pretty vases of flowers and plants set around as decor and a few regal-looking photos and paintings hung around the walls.

The house was far from calm though.

There was a grand total of eight children, counting the tan feline who had let Jezzy inside. Grouping that with a pair of very exhausted parents, there was almost no peace wherever you looked.

A pair of yellow felines were arguing across the table as one with very messy blonde hair (that she appeared to have cut herself) set her feet on the tabletop. The other yellow cat appeared to take that gesture almost personally, shouting at her sister to remove her paws from the table at once.

The girl scout cat was attempting to sort out the squabbling herself and didn't seem to be succeeding. The fighting felines simply ignored her, focusing on each other and yowling insults back and forth.

A coffee-colored cat was sitting on a flight of steps, painting his claws while also reading a book that appeared to be about aliens. Standing behind him was a very clean cut blonde girl who read the book over his shoulders while kneading her fingers through his hair absentmindedly.

The tiniest of the children, a small, dusky brown kitten was seemingly joined at the hip to the oldest of the bountiful siblings. He watched with big blue eyes at the chaos around him while sucking his thumb diligently.

Jezzy turned to face his friend who watched the chaos with tired eyes.

"So, nothing's changed then." He joked. His friend smiled sheepishly.

"Nothing aside from Gabriella and Khloe fighting over literally everything. I swear, if one even breathes in the other's general direction, they're throwing punches. Speaking of which, if you'll excuse me..." The mellow cat turned their head towards the fighting sisters and clapped their hands together. "Would you two knock it off?! We have company."

Khloe turned to face them, sticking out her tongue and crossing her arms; her feet were still resting comfortably atop the table.

"Whatever, Dylan. I don't have to listen to you just because your gay friend's over."

Dylan's cheeks flushed brighter and they threw their head back with an impressive sigh.

"Mom, Dad, can you control them for just a second?"

"Coming, sweetheart!" A sing-songy voice called back, emerging from the kitchen along with the smell of baked chicken.

Jezzy felt his mouth water. He'd hardly had anything to eat all day since morning, and baked chicken was sounding really good right about now. His stomach growled as if to agree and Jezzy pressed his hands against his gut with embarrassment.

Dylan turned their head, giving Jezzy a weak smile.

"You staying to eat? Supper's just about ready anyways and we don't mind..."

"You mean, you don't mind!" Khloe butted in.

Gabriella picked up a dinner roll from the center of the table, launching it at Khloe with full force. Khloe caught it in her had last minute, taking a casual bite out of the bread.

"I don't mind either, Khloe! Jezzy's much better company than you are anyways!"

Khloe scoffed, scooping a small portion of mashed potatoes into her spoon and preparing to fling it at her older sister.

"At least I'm not so uptight. I know how to have fun!"

Suddenly, a tired brown cat and a much perkier-looking yellow cat trotted out of the kitchen, holding the baked chicken and a gravy boat in their paws. The yellow feline walked over with a forced grin upon her face while the brown tomcat walked over to Khloe, grabbing her shoulder firmly and forcing her to look at him.

Khloe dropped her spoon onto her plate and blinked up innocently at her father who whispered sternly into her ear. Khloe simply rolled her eyes and pouted.

The children's father then stomped over to the staircase, shooing the smaller yellow cat away from her brother and then turning back to him when she had gone. He seemed to be very unhappy about the nail polish, snatching the bottle and shoving it into his pants' pocket and pointing upstairs. Dylan frowned.

"He can do what he wants, Dad. It's my nail polish anyways."

The father shook his head as if he couldn't handle much more before walking over to the kitchen table and flopping down exhaustively, placing his face in his hands. The mild mannered blonde girl and the olive colored cat with the choppy hair walked over, rubbing his shoulders and murmuring to him comfortingly. Jezzy shook his head.

"Er, maybe I should just go..."

Dylan shook their head adamantly, grabbing their friend's hand and dragging him to the dining table decisively and motioning towards the chair on his right. Jezzy sat down obediently out of politeness and the youngest child sat on Dylan's other side.

The mother of the large family adjusted a few more plates and food items, blissfully ignorant before walking over to sit beside Jezzy and the children's father. She gave Jezzy a radiant grin, her teeth pearly white and her eyes sparkling with just as much light.

She sat down gracefully, placing a napkin on her lap before bowing her head and intertwining her fingers.

Jezzy gulped anxiously as the rest of the family did the same, though he noticed that Gabriella was glaring at Khloe through her paws. Khloe held her head high and refused to bow down. Jezzy, not wanting to cause a scene, also intertwined his fingers and felt his heart skip a beat.

It had been such a long time since he'd been involved in anything remotely religious and he could not for the life of him remember the words he was supposed to recite. He hoped that everything could be followed with a simple 'Amen' or silence.

"Bless us, oh Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord. Amen." Dylan's mother recited as though she had done so many times before.

All the children let out a resonating 'Amen' before tucking into their meals and immediately beginning to start the chaos up again.

Dylan's mother turned her head to look at Jezzy with a friendly gaze. Her bright blue eyes glimmered with almost childlike joy. Jezzy wondered how she managed to stay so happy-go-lucky despite all of the turmoil that ran through her family, but decided not to question it.

"Well, hello there, Jezebelle. It's so good of you to join us for dinner. How are you feeling, dear?"

Jezzy drummed his fingers against his kneecaps as Dylan prepared a plate for him out of habit of taking care of the younger children. He noticed that Dylan did seem to know what foods that Jezzy liked and what he didn't, skipping out on the green beans, but piling up the stuffed mushrooms.

"Hello, Mrs. Norris. I'm doing… a-alright... I guess; today has just been a weird day for me..."

Dylan's mossy green eyes met Jezzy's and they searched for any hidden meaning with narrow suspicion. Dylan could usually tell what Jezzy was thinking, much like Mia, but Jezzy had decided to keep his inner emotions somewhat guarded while inside this house.

He felt a bit bad for leaving Dylan in the dark, but he admonished that he'd explain to them what happened later when he didn't have such an audience.

"Oh, please, Jezebelle; call me Cynthia." Mrs. Norris offered, patting Jezzy's leg with a motherly fondness. Jezzy just flinched at the unannounced touch and gave her a wavering smile back. "What's got you bothered?"

Jezzy winced again, this time inwardly. He hadn't planned on announcing his problems to everyone in the proximity and had only wanted to talk to Dylan. He had no back-up plan as to cover his tail and he fumbled on his words before thinking.

"J-just some personal issues with a f-friend. Nothing new, haha." He put in quickly before grabbing a stuffed mushroom and popping it into his mouth. He chewed thoroughly, trying to get past the awkward stares he was getting from the Norris'. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be working. He turned to face Dylan with suddenness that surprised the other feline. The two were almost face to face, sitting so close together at the table and Jezzy noticed that his friend's cheeks reddened more than they had at all during this visit. "So, ah, 'he' or 'she' today?"

Dylan blinked, their eyes wide with surprise.

"Uh, 'he' today..." Dylan responded, his eyes darting over to his father who gave him a look. "What's the deal, Jezzy? You're acting a little jumpier than usual today. Are you sure whatever happened was really that minor… because it doesn't seem like it."

Jezzy coughed, looking down at his feet for awhile before tugging at his sweater collar and licking his bottom lip.

"I-I mean, it is a little unnerving, b-but-"

"Rawr!"

Jezzy let out a yelp as a yellow cat with spiky blonde hair and matching fur pounced out at him from underneath the table. The lanky cat fell backwards onto his rear and stared at the prankster with wide eyes and a heaving chest. He could feel his heartbeat pounding beneath his fur.

"Carlos!" Dylan chastised his laughing little brother with a frown, standing from the table and bending down to help Jezzy up with a worried glance. "I told you to stop doing that!"

Carlos snickered and gave Khloe a high-five, his fluffy tail flickering back and forth excitedly.

"Oh, you did? I must not have been listening."

Dylan rolled his eyes, brushing Jezzy off habitually, and sending his parents a pained look.

"No kidding, huh? Mom, Dad, can I be excused for now, please? I think Jezzy would appreciate some down time from the family."

Cynthia exchanged a glance with her husband, looking more sympathetic than he did.

"If he can't handle the family, then he doesn't need to be here." Dylan's father grumbled.

Jezzy grimaced, preparing to apologize before Cynthia nodded hurriedly.

"You boys can go talk in Dilly's bedroom for now. I'll let you know if this all dies down." Cynthia turned a stern gaze to Carlos and Khloe, her ears flattened with disappointment. "Meanwhile, we'll be working on how to act when there are guests around, won't we?"

Khloe rolled her eyes again, but Carlos had the decency to look a little cowed.

Cynthia didn't get upset often, but when she did, she had a guilt-inducing effect on everyone in the area who had any dignity at all.

"Right." Dylan's choppy haired sister agreed firmly, giving her siblings the same stern look and Dylan a softer one. "You guys all act like you've never seen Jezzy before."

With that final statement lingering in the air, Dylan led his friend upstairs, stepping over his younger brother's comic book that still sat on the step. Jezzy followed, ducking his head as he entered Dylan's already opened bedroom.

Dylan's room was full of superhero merchandise and comic books galore. There was a discounted costume hanging from the other side of the door; the tag read 'The Unknown Hero'. A line of succulents sat on a desk near the window across the room. One bunk bed set against the wall, the top bunk looking neat and tidy while the bottom one was a mess of sheets and blankets.

A mound of pillows sat on top of a sleeping bag that laid sprawled out on the floor near the bottom bunk. There was a stuffed alien on top of the biggest pillow and its eyes appeared to follow Jezzy's gaze no matter where it drifted to.

"Haven't been in here for awhile..." Jezzy started, his voice slowly starting to grow more confident now that he was away from the judgmental eyes of the majority of the Norris family. "Is that a new bedspread?"

Dylan nodded, looking pleased that Jezzy had noticed. He walked over and sat down on the cushioned mattress beneath him. His Deadpool bedspread crumpled slightly beneath him. Dylan patted the spot next to him and Jezzy sat down next to his friend, leaning back against the wall behind him.

For awhile, the two boys said nothing, and just sat. Jezzy took this time to recollect himself, breathing deeply and closing his eyes.

"So, uh, what's the deal, J-Cat? Are you doing alright? I'm really sorry about my siblings by the way. They shouldn't treat you like you're their toy."

Jezzy's eyes blinked open and he gave Dylan an empathetic glance.

"Nah, i-it's fine. You can't control all of them no matter how hard you try."

Dylan frowned, pulling his knees to his face and looking out across the room.

"Still. I'm the oldest and they should respect me. The only ones I can convince to listen to me are Bryson, Lydia, Andrea, and Oliver. The rest of them hear what I'm saying and just choose not to listen. And don't even get me started on Dad. He's just as bad as any of the young ones..." Dylan's eyes widened and he turned to look at Jezzy apologetically. "Ah, sorry. This is about you, not me."

Jezzy shook his head, adjusting his star necklace and staring at the bunk above him.

"Like I said, it's fine. You need to talk to someone more than I do and my problem isn't that bad anyways. It was a hit and miss sort of thing, probably never going to happen again. On the other hand, you're stuck here until you graduate. I feel bad because you deserve better." Jezzy's eyebrows furrowed. "I mean, you always hear me out and help everyone and just... You know, you're just there for everyone."

Dylan's eyebrows raised and his ears twitched slightly.

"Well, that's very sweet of you to say, J, but it's not all bad." His emerald eyes shifted back and forth sneakily before he leaned forward, closer to Jezzy's ear. "Besides, I might be able to leave here sooner than expected. I brought up the whole 'roomies' thing to Mom and I really think she's considering it. I just have to convince Dad and I've got the okay."

For the past few months, Jezzy and Dylan had been planning for Dylan to move in with the two-toned cat so he could get away from his dysfunctional family. Jezzy had offered to save up for another bed, but Dylan had been adamant about either sharing a bed, sleeping on the floor, or crashing on the couch. Jezzy had suggested Dylan bringing his bunk bed along with him, but Dylan had insisted that his part of the bed would go to his little brother, Olly if he ever left. Besides, he'd said, he wasn't convinced that his parents would be all for it. The news that Cynthia thought it was a good idea was a nice step forward. Jezzy gave his friend a grin.

"That's good! Hopefully it all goes as planned. I've been sort of lonely since I moved out of Aspen and almost my entire grade skipped town as soon as they could aside from Vixen and a couple of others." Jezzy cracked his knuckles. "And it's been awhile since I shared a house with anyone."

Dylan returned the warm gesture, before he shakily allowed his hand to find Jezzy's. He interlocked their fingers and looked at Jezzy curiously.

"You're avoiding the subject though. We're talking about you; your problem, your feelings, you. You know you can tell me anything, right?"

Jezzy sighed, hating that his perceptive friend had caught onto his ploy. With a defeated glimpse at Dylan, he began.

"It's just… really bizarre, I guess. Yesterday, when I was walking home from the cafe, I saw this blur of yellow fur shoot past me, coming from the direction of the library. At first I thought it was no big deal, like some jogger or something, b-but then I went home and I... Well, I had a not so great dream..."

Dylan's eyes softened sympathetically.

"As in?"

"I… I don't really w-want to talk about it. It's pretty personal..."

Dylan seemed mildly hurt that Jezzy wouldn't confide in him, but had the decency to respect his friend's wishes.

"Alright, then what happened? Or was that all?"

Jezzy shook his head from side to side slowly.

"There's more... After I woke up, I was getting ready to do the newspaper route w-when I happened to look outside and... There was this weird guy outside. He was yellow with orange and white markings. He was wearing this weird blue hat and really baggy clothing. He kept staring at my house and when I threatened to call the c-cops, he didn't seem to care; like at all."

Dylan's expression changed to a half thoughtful and half angry look.

"What a weirdo. He was just checking your house out or...? Did you actually call the cops then?"

Jezzy shook his head yet again, feeling a little embarrassed.

"N-no. Even though I really felt like I should, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. He started talking to me, saying he was some tourist on vacation and was taking in the sights, which made absolutely n-no sense. After a while, he told me his name... Sorciere. And, I don't..." Jezzy swallowed quickly. "I don't understand why, but I let him inside my house and made him tea and just… talked to him? It was so weird, but I felt like it was okay to open up to him like that."

Dylan gave Jezzy a skeptical look, seeming somewhat mutinous.

"Really? Do you think it was really a good idea to let him in?"

Jezzy frowned.

"N-no, not at all actually, now that I think back to it." He scratched the back of his head before continuing. "Anyways, he hardly drank any of the tea I made him before he just up and left. It was weird because I saw him go out the door but then it slammed shut on its own and he just… seemed to disappear into thin air."

Dylan nodded.

"That is strange. Is that everything?"

"No, though this next part isn't super important, I-I guess. I just went to work, did Daichi's route, and I was walking home near the school when this girl sort of attacked me. Her name was Lainey and she told me that she'd been followed by a yellow cat and some guy named Toby earlier and didn't trust me." Jezzy shrugged. "I guess, I found it weird that I'd just gotten away from Sorciere only to hear that he'd been following Lainey around creepily not that long before."

Jezzy looked directly into Dylan's eyes, locking his gaze on the smaller boy's intensely.

"Doesn't it scare you, Dylan? I have no idea what he's up to, but it's really unnerving. He inspected my house from head to toe, somehow made me trust him enough to tell him my real name, left, and then followed some girl around town enough to make her think she was going to get, you know..."

Dylan frowned deeper this time, looking very conflicted.

"I know Lainey, I mean, not personally, but she's in a couple of my classes. I don't know a lot about her, but I know she doesn't take crap from anyone. If this 'Sorciere' guy really made her that uncomfortable, it is a little scary. I heard she broke a guy's nose once when he was creeping on her so the fact that she was so tense around Sorciere, too tense to hurt him badly, really worries me." Dylan's ears flattened nervously. "You don't think he's some sex offender or something, do you? I don't want to have to worry about my siblings leaving the house."

"No, I don't think that's it. He's... I don't know. He's different obviously, but I really couldn't tell you what he's up to. I've never seen him before, but he seems to be my age or just a little older. Isn't that strange? The only high school in this area is Juniper High and if he never attended, then where did he even come from? He couldn't have moved here or anything because I've never seen him in town. The only information I have about him being in town at all aside from my house is what Lainey told me." Jezzy argued, his words flooding out of his mouth quickly. He paused to take a breath before continuing. "It just worries me, you know?"

Dylan nodded, his expression grim.

"Me too. Just today, when I was walking home from school I got jumped by Chispa. You know, that blue cat that always bothers the bartender at The Barrel House? Anyways, she took some of my leftover vending machine money, but she wasn't super forceful about it. She looked pretty banged up and her left eye was pretty swollen. Makes me wonder... You think Sorciere roughed her up?"

Jezzy shrugged defeatedly, his plume of a tail whisking on the edge of the bunk.

"I-I have no idea what he's capable of. I'm telling you, Dill, he didn't seem like such a bad guy, believe it or not. I don't know why, but he just doesn't seem like a violent guy or anything like that."

Dylan was about to reply when the door creaked open and his tiny tag-a-long brother padded into the room, his thumb in his mouth. He extended an arm to show that he had the confiscated nail polish in his palm.

"Thanks, Olly." Dylan murmured, accepting the offering with a flourish and setting the bottle onto the desk with a stretch. He gave Jezzy an awkward glance before looking at his little brother pleadingly. "Do you think you could stay downstairs just a little longer? Jezzy and I are talking right now."

Jezzy sat up from the wall and tapped his foot.

"No, I don't mind. Oliver can stay. He doesn't ever bother me." He gave Oliver a klutzy smile. "You're a pretty cool dude, right?"

Oliver made a peace sign with his free paw; a gesture he'd been taught by his older brother and the stuffed alien he owned.

Jezzy snickered.

"Yeah, you're cool alright."

Oliver walked over to Dylan and looked at him with doe-like eyes.

Dylan patted his lap, releasing Jezzy's hand from his grip.

"C’mere, Olly."

Oliver climbed onto Dylan's lap, situating himself comfortable and cuddling into his older brother's chest blissfully. His chest rumbled with a purr.

Dylan stroked his hand through Oliver's bedhead, using the other hand to keep him sitting upright. Just watching the two was enough to make Jezzy's eyes heavy. He stifled a yawn and smiled in a content manner.

When the crazy ones were removed from the picture, Dylan's family wasn't all bad. At least, they were tolerable.

A bout of tentative knocking came from the askew door and Bryson, Dylan's other brother, also stepped into the room. He gave Jezzy a wave (with glittery cerulean nails) and walked over, grabbing the stuffed alien from the floor and handing it to Oliver. The youngest sibling took it gratefully, his eyes closing as he began to grow sleepy.

"Thanks for standing up for me down there, Dylan." Bryson stated shyly, beginning to climb up the bunk bed's ladder.

"It's no problem, Bry."

"Do you mind if I stay up here? I'm just going to finish reading the latest Green Lantern article, I swear. I won't listen in to your guy's conversation or anything like that."

Dylan's gaze flickered over to Jezzy who shrugged neutrally, his eyelids drooping.

"Yeah, go ahead."

Bryson got situated on the bunk above the trio and there was instantly the light shuffling sound of magazine pages being flipped.

Dylan let out a sigh, leaning his head against Jezzy's shoulder and closing his eyes. He paused for a moment before speaking.

"You know, it's these kinds of things that make it hard to even imagine moving out. Thanks a lot you guys."

"No problem, loser." Bryson put in from his perch. "But really, it would be really lonely here without you to help control the heathens. Olly and I might have to resort to sneaking into your luggage when you move out. Take us with you."

Dylan giggled, making Jezzy feeling at least ten times more at ease.

"I would if I could. Nothing is set in stone yet, guys, I just... I would appreciate getting away from some people everyone once in awhile, you know?"

Bryson tapped his fingers against the wall repetitively.

"I can stand almost everyone, but Dad is really starting to push it. Mom is so much nicer than he is."

Dylan drew his tongue over his bottom lip, looking contemplative.

"Well, you have to give him a break sometimes, Bry. He was raised by strict parents and he has eight kids. Those are some pretty intense things to deal with simultaneously."

"Yeah, but he doesn't need to take it out on-"

Jezzy nuzzled Dylan's cheek slightly before scooting forward and off of the bed. He stood with a stretch and turned to face the three brothers with a sympathetic glance.

"This is getting sort of personal, so I think I'll leave you guys to talk about it more. It sounds like you need it." Jezzy cracked his knuckles quickly. "And if any of you ever need a place to stay, as long as your parents are okay with it, you're always welcome."

Dylan flicked an ear skeptically.

"Except for Gabriella and Khloe."

"And Carlos." Jezzy added with a chuckle.

"And Carlos." Dylan agreed, nodding slowly. "Well, it was nice of you to come visit us and to… let us know about that issue. I'll keep my eyes open and warn the kiddos to be wary of it."

The tan colored feline shifted, attempting to get off of the bed and finding that Oliver had long since fallen asleep, weighing him down slightly. The little cat snored softly, his lips parted and his thumb finally at his side instead.

"I'd give you a hug, J, but I'm sort of… trapped." Dylan laughed quietly so as not to disturb Oliver.

Jezzy leaned forward, giving Dylan a kiss on the cheek as he had done many times before. He took a step back, waved to the three siblings and began to walk out the bedroom door. He thought he heard Dylan mumble something, but figured it was directed at one of his brothers.

The two-toned cat closed the bedroom door behind him and walked down the stairs to the first floor of the house. He gave Cynthia and Lydia a quick wave before pushing past the door to the house and walking onto the sidewalk.

He could hear Dylan's father faintly talking to his wife and he didn't sound happy.

Jezzy hoped he hadn't caused any problems for his friend or his siblings.

With a flick of his tail, Jezzy began to head home.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I never realized how quiet it is in town when it gets dark out, Jezzy thought to himself blissfully

The teenager was walking alongside the pathway of the Juniper Park, admiring the dark blue sky and the stars that shimmered within it. Jezzy picked out the Big Dipper constellation immediately and looked for more, nearly tripping over a stray rock in the process.

Jezzy kept his head tilted upwards, looking for familiar formations in the sky. He was so distracted that he didn't hear an approaching muffled conversation until it was upon him.

"Hey, it's the delivery boy!"

Jezzy felt his heart stop momentarily. His nervous gaze flickered down to see a golden retriever walking beside a peach colored feline who had bright yellow eyes fixed upon him. He recognized the duo as two spiritual hippies from town. The golden retriever was named Dawnstar and he often invited Jezzy in for tea whenever he dropped off the paper. The feline was named Celestrial, or Celeste as she preferred, and she rarely joined in with these chats. She still acknowledged his existence and allowed him to set foot in her house, which was nice.

Waving at the two as they grew closer, Jezzy noticed that he felt a little more at ease at the moment. Being with his friend seemed to do that for him and though he didn't know Celeste and Dawnstar very well, he figured he could trust them.

"Yo, Jezzy! What're you doing out so late, you crazy kid?" Dawnstar asked, his voice croaky.

"Just going home, Dawnstar. What about you guys?"

Dawnstar shook himself thoroughly as he tended to do whenever he got the chills. His fluffy tail wagged back and forth gingerly.

"Same as you. Celeste and I were just talking about a weird dream I had last night. Was kinda funky, even for me."

Jezzy's ears twitched. He was highly interested in anything relating to dreams and he loved to find deeper meaning in them. Even if they were as nonsensical as could be, it was still cool to hear them.

"Would you mind filling me in about it? I find dreams to be fascinating." Jezzy's bushy tail whisked back and forth happily and he turned on the puppy dog eyes to woo Dawnstar further.

Dawnstar nodded; it seemed like he was planning on sharing anyways. Being an open person, he could care less what people heard or saw of him.

The golden retriever went on to discuss how he'd dreamed of being able to run without issues before slipping into another dream that seemed to belong to someone else. He'd simply dropped onto the grass and watched as a yellow cat summoned others to this dream world. Dawnstar admonished that after this occurred, he was dismissed from the dream and had felt as if he was falling before he awoke with a great pain in his throat and his heart racing.

Jezzy stood, paralyzed as he mulled over Dawnstar's words.

"I-I'm sorry, a yellow cat?"

Dawnstar nodded.

"Oh yeah, he was rad looking. He had orange stripes on him and a white chest. He was also wearing a bangin' AC/DC shirt so he had that going for him."

"O-oh my god!" Jezzy exclaimed, his eyes widening. "He's everywhere!"

Dawnstar frowned, extending a hand and looking at Jezzy's paled face.

"Are you alright, man? You look like you've seen a ghost, and that's my job, you know." The golden retriever chuckled.

Jezzy found it anything but funny.

"D-Dawn, I'm r-really sorry but I need to get home right n-now..."

Dawnstar and Celeste exchanged a glance, each looking more than a bit confused.

"Are you sure you don't want to just sit down or something? You look like you might keel over, dude. There's a bench right there." Dawnstar offered. "I could give you a good 'ole shoulder rub too if that'll help. Anything to calm you down, kiddo."

Jezzy blinked rapidly, his mouth tasting like metal.

"Th-thanks, but no thanks. I have to go. I-I'm sorry."

And with that Jezzy darted off towards the direction of his house. He felt the night air whip against his face and his mind was whirling, but he needed to get home. He needed to make himself some tea, play some soothing music, and lay down.

He needed to think about the strange cat that was plaguing everyone's life recently.

Jezzy had never been a good endurance runner, usually getting out of breath if he had ran for more than a few seconds. Now, he felt like an Olympian, dashing down the streets and sucking out of sight for fear of seeing a familiar yellow pelt and those shocking black eyes...

<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>

Jezzy slammed the door behind him with a deafening thud before sinking onto the floor and clutching his knees to his face.

He felt like he needed to tell someone about the recurrence of Sorciere and how incredibly creepy the circumstances were, but he could think of no one that could be of any help.

Dawnstar and Celeste were known druggies and through they claimed to know a lot about spiritual things and fate, Jezzy didn't trust them with such important information.

He had just come from Dylan's house and could not return so soon. He figured that Dylan and the others needed some time to themselves as well.

Mia was usually in bed by now, worn out by watching the younger children at her daycare. She wouldn't want to be bothered.

‘The only other person I could talk to this about…’ Jezzy thought to himself. ‘...is Lainey. She knows to be on the lookout for Sorciere too and she might know some crucial information that I don't.’

‘But I hardly know her!’ Jezzy scolded himself. ‘And what sane teenager would be up at this hour on a school night? I can't just go traipsing over to her house for an interrogation. I'd be better off just waiting for her to walk home from school tomorrow. I'll talk to her then.’

Jezzy forced himself to stand up, his legs feeling like jello.

‘Maybe this is all some weird coincidence and I'm making too big of a deal about it. I'm sure that's all it is.’

But deep down inside, Jezzy felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

‘Something is at play here; something that is far beyond anyone's comprehension.’

Jezzy shook his head, rubbing at his eyes and finger-combing through his bangs quickly.

‘I need a cup of tea…’


	7. ☆

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorciere wanders the town, searching for his 'chosen' ones.

It was a beautiful morning in Juniper, and Sorciere took a deep breath of the crisp, clean air as he trotted into the city. The sky above him was a gorgeous cerulean with fluffy, cotton candy clouds floating aimlessly around its expansiveness. The sun was as bright as ever, shining down on Sorciere's honey yellow fur and warming him to the bone. Birds chirped happily as they flew overhead.

Today was the perfect day to begin the choosing. Seven lucky people would be receiving the absolute honor of being the safe ones when the angry force that was threatening Juniper finally attacked. They would reside in Sorciere's dream model of Juniper with him forever. It would be great.

After thinking long and hard in his cave, and soaking in the pool to clear his mind, Sorciere had decided that sooner was better than later. He'd need to choose his seven people as soon as he possibly could, and he already had a few candidates in mind. He knew a grand total of none of them well aside from names and appearances, so today he'd been planning on getting to know them a bit better. First impressions were important, but they could also be dead wrong.

Sorciere wanted kind-hearted, generous people who cared more for others than themselves to be saved. He wanted good-humored people who were always cracking jokes and making people smile. He wanted people who trusted him and respected him just as much as they would any other leader, but most of all, Sorciere wanted interesting people. People that would spice up the mundane and repetitive life of the dream plane that was bound to grow boring over time. He wanted people who were so unpredictable that even his foresight would have trouble deciphering their next moves.

Lucky for the mage, Juniper seemed chock full of people with these qualifications. Some might think that this would make things troubling for Sorciere and make the choices harder. Sorciere begged to differ; this just meant that he could take his pick and get to know anyone that caught his eye. More often than not, they would fit his standards and be perfect for the choosing.

Sorciere felt incredibly powerful. He held the seven very lucky lives in his paws. These people would be specifically selected out of the thousands of people that called Juniper home. These people would be gods upon average folk and he? Well, he would be their worshipped and well-loved savior.

Things could not have been better.

The mage held himself with great confidence, his head high and shoulders back. He waved casually to passerbys, not minding the strange looks he got in return for his 'unique' get-up. He smiled at everyone who happened upon him and sent out warm greetings every which way.

Women blushed, men seemed confused, children giggled, and others simply stopped and stared after. He chose not to stay behind and speak personally with any of these people, knowing exactly who he wanted to speak to at the moment in time. He strode across the sidewalk, cutting into a familiar alleyway off to the side. He looked at the recognizable scratched out 'D' on the concrete wall and smiled as if it were an old friend. He knew what he was doing.

"Kei!" Sorciere called, cupping his hand over his mouth. His voice echoed in the alley, and he shaded his eyes with a palm, looking up towards the tops of the buildings around him.

Immediately, the sound of claws scrambling across the structures around him grew apparent. A dark shadow jumped across a balcony and flipped off of the edge, finishing with a slide down a banister and yet another leap right in front of Sorciere. When the dust had cleared, Kei Sherline Driscoll stood in front of him as clear as day.

Kei's posture was excited, her front half hunched over, and her hands out in front of her, fingers curled into claws. Her yellow eyes were blazing with adrenaline, and they darted around, searching for any potential threat. Her tail thrashed back and forth rapidly. Panting, she looked to Sorciere, impatiently awaiting instructions. "Who do I need to beat up now?"

Sorciere chuckled at the anticipation radiating off of Kei like she couldn't wait to sink her teeth into whatever meaty morsel of a street urchin Sorciere had procured this time. Unluckily for her, there was no one for her to completely pulverize today. "Nobody this time. I just wanted to speak with you."

Kei couldn't hide her disappointment. Her tail slowed to a stop, and her ears drooped. Her bottom lip jutted out in a pout. "Well, that's boring," she stated bluntly, but Sorciere simply dismissed her dramatically changed mood with a wave of his hand.

"I assure you that I will most likely be in need of your physical combat skills again sometime soon but as for now, I'd like to simply get to know you better. Perhaps you could also give me a tour around the city? I must admit that I really enjoy the atmosphere of this place, and I believe that it would be quite interesting to invest in a new home here."

Kei frowned deeper, her ears flattening even more. "Aw, man, I guess I could give you a tour, but... Can we at least run or something while we're doing it? I don't usually do stuff like this."

Sorciere tried to stay patient and keep an even voice. Though it was a ridiculous question to ask, he had to consider that Kei, according to Kei herself, usually didn't do things like this. Her going out of her way to help him out around the town was a rare treat, and he needed to cherish it. "I'm sorry truly, but I feel like it would be best for us to keep an even pace during this tour. I want to be able to absorb the beauty of this city, and one cannot do such a thing whilst engaging in particularly challenging physical activities such as-"

"Okay, okay, whatever. We won't run," Kei mumbled, coughing and then cracking her back somewhat mutinously. "Well, first things first, let's get you out of this alley. It's almost like you're trying to get punked."

One of the mage's eyebrows raised questioningly. Punked? What on earth did that mean? He didn't say anything though, deciding that keeping his mouth shut would be an appropriate apology for taking the fun out of Kei's day.

The tiger-striped wolf began to lead Sorciere out of the alley, not looking back once. It seemed that she expected Sorciere to follow her with no questions asked. Sorciere obeyed the silent command, falling in behind her. She coughed all the while, her tic getting the best of her. "So, uh, where do you wanna go first"

Sorciere shrugged. "I am not sure myself. I'd much rather you be in charge or being the leader. I don't know my way around this town as you must remember."

Kei laughed loudly. "I guess not; you wandered into the same back alley twice in a row! Come on, I can show you my crib. I've gotta stop by and pick up something to eat."

Again, Sorciere's eyebrows raised.

Whatever did she mean by that?

"Your... Crib?"

Kei's brows were the ones to furrow this time. She seemed to be looking for the right word that would light the bulb in Sorciere's mind. "You know like... Abode? Coop? Joint?"

Sorciere tilted his head like a confused puppy. He very much felt like one too at this point in time.

His companion threw her arms up in exasperation. "For Christ's sake, my house!"

At this, the mage's dark eyes widened with sudden comprehension. "Oh... I did not realize that one thing could have so many names."

The tiger-striped wolf's tail thumped on the ground irritably. She looked like she wanted to pull out her fur or strangle Sorciere; possibly both. However, she somehow managed to restrain herself. "Yeah, well, you're really weird, alright? Like I mean it. Totally freaky."

Sorciere frowned, not knowing how he should respond to this comment. "I'm... Sorry...?"

Kei rolled her bright yellow eyes, tapping her foot on the ground. "Never mind, let's just get there, okay?" And once again, she took the lead. Chin out and posture radiating the utmost confidence, she waltzed into the city. Her arms rested behind her head showing that she was very much comfortable in this area of town.

Sorciere admired the citizens and going-ons around town. Though it was only morning, the city was already bustling with life as people rushed to get to their jobs and offices.

A deer with raggedy clothing and a sour expression rattled a can and asked anyone who walked by for spare change. An English springer spaniel who was russet in coloration was holding a cellphone up to her ear with one hand and about ten different colored bags in the other. A white canine who was splattered with ink was holding a large stack of papers and peering over the top as he wobbled precariously. Sorciere tried to absorb all the diverse personalities of Juniper. Choosing seven to save felt more thrilling than ever.

The duo passed by a large group of children chattering loudly as they hurried in the direction of the school before coming face to face with an incredibly large apartment complex. Kei walked right up to the door casually, but Sorciere could not help but look up at the amazing structure in awe.

The buildings here didn't seem half as huge when I was memorizing them before, Sorciere mused.

The building was gorgeous to say the least, stretching up to the sky as if it could touch it. Somehow the building wasn't collapsing in on itself as Sorciere would have previously thought. The structure itself was a graying white color like it was dusty though the many, many windows seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. There were hundreds of people inside, and every once in awhile, Sorciere would see someone pass by an open area. This building was incredibly different from his home. He felt so small looking up as he was.

Suddenly, Sorciere was brought back down to earth as Kei called out obnoxiously to him.

"Oi, are you coming or not?" Kei questioned, giving her companion a confused look. "What're you gawking at anyways? You never see a skyscraper before?"

Sorciere shook her head, returning to Kei's side. "Well, it's just that... Well, I suppose I never really realized how BIG they truly are..."

Kei rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time this single morning, coughing into her elbow. "Well, they wouldn't be called skyscrapers if they weren't big. Anyways, come on. You're slow as all hell."

The two walked into the building where Kei immediately began to make a scene of incredibly loud volumes. She waved her arms at people and called out to them as if they were family. The things she was saying, however, was anything but familial.

"Hey there, Brinner! Heard about your roommate, Kristen moving out; guess she couldn't handle your baggage, huh?"

A tan feline dipped her head, blushing deeply as she tried to blend into the crowd. Before she could even begin to explain herself, Kei moved onto the next unlucky passerby.

"Clyde, my man, how are things with Solly? Still doesn't know you totally have the hots for him, right?"

A light orange feline with a fluffy tail suddenly seemed to go from happy-go-lucky to absolutely mortified. He covered his mouth with a gasp and whipped his head around as if to see if 'Solly' had heard.

"Star, is your old woman mad about you missing her call last week? Man, bet that's rough!"

Yet another feline with bushy, galaxy colored fur suddenly reddened, frowning and pulling up a pair of headphones to cover her ears. She pressed the home button on her phone and threw her hood over her ears.

Kei continued with these antics, first calling out a name and then asking a ridiculously personal question without waiting for a response. Each person in turn would either try to ignore her, or smile awkwardly and wave with reluctant obligation. They would jump and cringe, indicating that they did not enjoy Kei's presence as much as she seemed to think that they did. Sorciere picked up on this very quickly and shot Kei a quick glance, but this did not seem to connect in his companion's mind as she held herself with dignity and high importance. It seemed that she believed that she was well respected and loved by these poor people.

The tiger-striped wolf led the way further into the building before coming to an abrupt halt. Sorciere nearly crashed into her, but Kei simply scratched her chin thoughtfully. "I usually take the stairs, but something tells me you might want to take the 'vator."

Though Sorciere had not even the slightest of ideas about what Kei could possibly mean by 'vator', he nodded as if he understood completely. He smiled to disguise his lack of knowledge with false familiarity.

Kei frowned, giving the huge flights of stairs off to her right a longing look. However, she had the decency to follow her guest's wishes. "'Vator it is..." She walked over to a rectangular-shaped double door in a wall that curiously had no handle to open it with. Instead, a box with buttons sat to the side. Kei's finger smashed against one of the buttons as she began to press it continuously.

The yellow mage tilted his head, moving closer to Kei. "What are you doing?" he asked, but Kei simply sighed deeply, ignoring Sorciere and instead leaning over to press her head against the button a few times.

Finally, there was a small sliding noise and the door in the wall opened to show a family inside. The family hopped out and hurried away, sending Kei strange looks. Inside of the 'vator' was a small, cramped, and empty room. There was no furniture, and no other people stood inside. Kei scrambled into the 'vator' and looked at Sorciere mischievously.

"You better hurry," Kei encouraged. "Before the door shuts; I will leave without you, and I will not be coming back for you."

Attempting to hide his mystified confusion, Sorciere quickly shuffled into the 'vator' and leaned up against the corner. He glanced around the small space and gave Kei a questioning look. "Is this your dwelling?"

Kei gave Sorciere a funny look before pressing another button on the inside of the room. "Not even remotely close..."

The doors to the 'vator' shut, and, to Sorciere's surprise, the entire room began to move upwards. His fluffy orange tail bushed up. Kei snort-laughed at him, but Sorciere could not force himself to be angry. He was absolutely terrified. What sort of death trap is this?!

The cramped room shot up to one of the top floors of the building, and Sorciere's screwed his eyes shut as the floor moved beneath him. The 'vator' made an abrupt stop, and the doors opened just as they had before. Kei hopped out and raced down a hallway on the other side of the room, her tail flowing behind her. Sorciere shakily clambered out of the moving room and followed the leader. He gave it a frightened passing glance, feeling entirely queasy.

Sorciere shakily walked over to Kei, looking around the building and musing about how he must have been so focused on learning every tiny detail of every structure in Juniper that'd he'd not truly been able to appreciate it before. Juniper was huge in comparison to his tiny cave and a decade or more levels technologically advanced than it was as well. The yellow mage could hardly believe that he'd never truly explored these places before when he'd had plenty of years of alone time to do just that. The library had been his primary focus, and due to that singular building's draw, he knew little to nothing about the modern city that he called his home.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Sorciere looked back up to Kei. She was standing in front of an unlocked door and doing arm circles leisurely. She seemed to be accustomed to Sorciere's childlike fascination with the world around him and had long since decided against telling him off. Another small part of her though suggested that she might be buying time herself. Something in her confident aura was wavering at this point in time though Sorciere could see no immediate threat as far as he was concerned (excluding the 'vator'.)

Finally, Kei flung open the door without knocking and barged in without any sort of a warning. Sorciere found this appropriate considering she did, in fact, own this house. However, Sorciere was still a stranger and was a bit more cautious then Kei, peering around the door nervously. To his surprise, he discovered that he and Kei were not alone in the apartment.

A similarly tiger-colored wolf was sitting upon a couch and watching television, his arm wrapped around a dark blue canine with fluffy, white hair. She was giggling and cuddling into his hold. The Kei doppelganger looked almost entirely like her, but he sported shaggy, black hair and stripes of orange raced across his otherwise grey tail. He was donning just a pair of boxers and some very dirty looking socks. His free paw was holding a remote control of some type, and he flicked through the channels of the television lazily, not looking at one or another too fondly.

Sorciere took in this new encounter's appearance and decided that he could feel a very unsettling aura radiating off of him. Very quickly, Sorciere denounced that he was not a good person, nor a good candidate for saving. He looked to Kei, and, by the look on her face, Sorciere also concluded that she would not feel sorry should he choose to leave this particular male out of the dream plane.

"Toby," Kei greeted, her voice tentative as if she were testing the waters.

One of Toby's ears flicked lazily. "Kei," the older tiger-striped wolf responded. His nose twitched. "Who's with you?"

At this, Kei crossed her arms. "A friend; what's it matter?" Her voice was now becoming more hostile than shaky.

Toby shrugged, his occupied arm tracing his partner's curves and leg. The girl giggled giddily, looking quite flustered. Her fluffy tail thumped with a sort of excited nervousness. Sorciere didn't understand it at all.

"Didn't know you had friends. Anyways, you're not sticking around. Get whatever you need and leave."

Kei pouted. "How come I can't have any of my friends over, but you're allowed to have any girl you find off the streets here? You've probably been bumpin' uglies on my goddamn couch all day!"

Toby's female friend gave him a look, her face flushed She mulled over Kei's words as if she was translating them. In response, Toby flashed the blue canine a fake smile. "Don't worry, babe. My sister likes to make up fairy tales when she doesn't get her way." He turned to face his sister with his ears down and lip curled back in a warning snarl. "Beat it, Kei."

Kei returned his glare for a few moments. Sorciere could feel the tension spark through the air. However, Kei clearly knew that she couldn't win in this situation. She dipped her head before stomping over to the kitchen island to her right. "Not before I get a sandwich," she muttered.

Toby simply waved his hand in dismissal, then curved his arm back around his partner, turning his focus back to the TV. He knew that he had won and that he was in control. The egotistical aura flooding off of him was sickening, Sorciere found himself looking back to Kei instead. Kei had an ego as well, but she knew when she was beat. She still respected her brother's wish though very reluctantly.

Sorciere's companion was raiding the fridge, grabbing supplies to make her sandwich She held a jar of pickles and yet another jar of mayonnaise in her arms. She placed them on the table, making sure to create as much noise as she possibly could. She then stomped over to the counter and grabbed a loaf of bread. She took two slices of the loaf and placed them on the table and then opened the jar of pickles easily. Grabbing a fork from a set of silverware, she stabbed the pickles mutinously.

Sorciere could feel that Kei was seething. He thought that perhaps it was not such a bright idea for Kei to be handling sharp objects at this point in time, but his worrying did nothing as Kei reached for the jar of mayo. She twisted open the jar with ease, but she used so much brute force that the jar shot towards her stomach, splattering her shirt with mayo.

"God dammit!" Kei swore.

Sorciere was conflicted. What should he do? Should he help her? Did she even want his help? He figured that he'd better at least ask. "Do you need assistance--"

"No!" Kei snapped.

Sorciere's ears snapped down, and he immediately held up his hands in defense. He had never felt such hostility from Kei before. Even when she had fought back against the blue feline in the alleyway, she had still exhibited some type of a joking manner. This felt raw and passionate. Sorciere was beginning to regret his decision to follow Kei in the first place.

Kei seemed to realize what she had done and took a deep breath that turned into a coughing fit. Through her coughs, she managed out an apologetic reply. "No. I'm fine. I just need to change my shirt."

Without a warning, Kei threw her shirt over her head and exposed her bare chest to the open. Sorciere's face reddened immediately as Kei leaned over the island, using her discarded shirt to wipe up the mayo mess. She looked up about halfway through the tedious task and took in Sorciere's expression. Cocking an eyebrow, Kei gave Sorciere a mischievous look. "Like what you see or something?"

The yellow mage turned his head, frowning as his usually professional demeanor struggled to stay in charge. "I'd... Rather not comment."

Kei shrugged nonchalantly, "Nothing to be ashamed of. I'm down if you're down."

Sorciere felt incredibly uncomfortable. Fighting the urge to run out the door and retreat back to his cave for the day, he simply grit his teeth and muttered a stiff response. "That's... Not why I'm here."

Kei rolled her yellow eyes. "Right, forgot you were clueless," she walked over to a dresser, drawing open one of the sections. She threw around the clothes that were inside carelessly. All the while, she mumbled to herself, "Wouldn't know a pretty girl if she smacked him in the face..." 

Sorciere bit back a scathing retort and simply waited patiently until he heard the welcome sound of a shirt being thrown on. When he finally turned, Kei had changed into a plain, black tank top.

Now fully dressed, Sorciere's companion returned to the table and finished making her sandwich (this time being a bit more careful.) She held the sandwich up to her sharp teeth and took a huge and ungraceful bite. She chewed loudly for a moment before swallowing with a gulp. Leaving the supplies for her sandwich on the table, she strode back over to Sorciere, all the while eating her extremely smelly sandwich. Sorciere noted that Kei smelled like mayo just as badly as her sandwich did, but he chose not to comment on that.

As the two began to leave the apartment, Kei turned and looked back one more time to her rude brother. Her lip curled back in disgust, and she made a made a growling noise deep in her throat. Sorciere followed her gaze to see Toby and the girl seemingly attempting to swap spit. Neither of them could keep their paws off of each other, and it was rather disturbing.

Toby's hand snaked up the girl's shirt at the same time Kei shook her head. "She'll be gone by morning," she mumbled before dragging Sorciere by the hand and slamming the door behind them.

"That's my brother, Toby if you couldn't tell," Kei ranted, walking over to the elevator. "He's a royal pain in my tail."

Sorciere stopped. Awkwardly, he interjected. "W-wait!"

Kei turned, giving Sorciere a strange look.

Sorciere's nervous gaze flickered over to the elevator. He remembered the feeling of rising into the air and clutching his stomach. It was not a feeling he'd like to repeat any time soon. "I think I'd rather take the stairs this time," he stated sheepishly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~☆

Sorciere followed Kei down the street, staying a couple paces behind her. Ever since her interaction with her brother, she'd been in a poor mood. Her tail dragged on the ground dismally, and her fists clenched and unclenched at her sides, though her usual fighting spirit was gone. She hadn't stopped walking the entire time, only coughing and half-heartedly pointing out public buildings. Never once did she go into detail about them, leaving Sorciere to simply wonder.

The yellow mage wasn't exactly fit and though his stamina was heightened due to his magic, he still found himself panting a bit as he tried to keep up with his companion.

"That's the public pool," Kei stated, not showing too much of one emotion or another.

Sorciere raised a finger, about to question the purpose of having a square pond full of strangely smelling water, but he was too slow as Kei went on with her monotone tour. "That's the Hill Top convenience store."

This pattern went on for quite some time with Kei stating the name of a place, Sorciere attempting to ask a question, or put in a comment, and Kei beginning again. It was becoming hard to keep track of everything, even for Sorciere. He wasn't getting anywhere and though he enjoyed Kei's company, he simply could not go on with her in this mood.

Eventually, Kei walked up to a gymnasium and looked up at the sign longingly. Her fists clenched again and suddenly, her pupils dilated. "I hate him so much," with a snarl, she punched the wall of the building, causing Sorciere to jump with surprise. "Isn't he just the worst?" She turned to Sorciere with a gaze that clearly said 'agree with me.'

Sorciere felt sweat trickle down his forehead. He was beginning to question how safe he was with Kei while she was still angry. She held no vendetta against him, but while she as still seething over Toby, there was no telling when she would snap... And who would be in her path when that finally happened. "Um..."

Before Sorciere said anything, his nervous eyes that had been darting around the area landed on a familiar face: Vitani. The caracal was easy to recognize with his trademark backwards baseball cap, messy, brown hair, and lanky build. This was the feline who had toppled Sorciere over during his expedition around town.

Vitani was sitting at a table outside of a cafe with a white feline who donned honey blonde hair. The other feline had wiry fur and strikingly hazel eyes. The two were beneath the shade of an umbrella and smoking cigarettes, causing clouds of smoke to coil around their faces.

Sorciere's eyes brightened with recognition, and he recognized his chance immediately. "You know, Kei, I have thoroughly enjoyed this tour you've been kind enough to give me, and I quite enjoy your company, but I hate to be a bother. It seems like you need to blow off some steam, and I forgot that I... Made plans with another friend of mine in town, and, oh look! There he is!" He motioned to Vitani.

Kei's expression went from boiling anger to slight curiosity. One of her ears lilted up. "Him? He's your friend?"

Sorciere nodded slowly, wondering if he had made a mistake somehow. Perhaps Kei and Vitani were on bad terms. "Yes..." he said slowly, almost as a question.

Kei nodded, looking impressed. "I see him at the park a lot. He's pretty athletic, but I don't think I've ever seen him talk to anyone besides his roommates before," she paused for another infamous cough. "Do you... Do you think that you could make sure to let him know that you know me? Like, that we're homies?"

The yellow mage hesitated, not quite sure on what Kei was asking of him.

Kei sighed heavily though it seemed that she was beginning to learn to just put up with Sorciere's limited knowledge. "Put in a good word for me, alright?"

Nodding, Sorciere replied, "Of course."

The tiger-striped wolf smiled. Her eyes shifted sideways to the gym. "You sure you'll be okay with him?" she asked distractedly.

Again, Sorciere nodded, this time more quickly. He liked Kei, he truly did, but he was all too eager to get away from her for the time being. She needed to cool down.

Kei shrugged. "Alright then, well let me know if you need anything..." she paused. "And thanks for remembering me. You're not too lame, you know. Friends?"

Sorciere mulled over her words. "Friends?"

Kei nodded, her eyes closing with acceptance. "Catch you later," and with that, she dipped into the gym.

A gusty sigh of relief escaped Sorciere's lips. It was as if all of the burdening anger that Kei had been carrying had left the area. He was free to speak to his other acquaintance now, so he skipped over to Vitani happily. Before he even reached the table that the two felines were sitting at, he smiled as if to ask 'do you remember me?'

Vitani, who was taking a drag on his cigarette, did not notice Sorciere right away. His companion was speaking to him, but when he cut off awkwardly at the appearance of Sorciere, Vitani finally looked up. His blue eyes widened with surprised recognition. "Sorcy?"

Sorciere resisted the urge to smack Vitani for getting his name wrong once again and instead put on his friendly facade. "Sorciere, actually. Hello, Vitani. It's nice to see you again."

The caracal nodded slowly, giving Sorciere a once over. "Good to see you haven't been killed yet."

The yellow mage decided to ignore this comment, his tail flicking wispily.

Finally, the honey-haired feline to Vitani's side decided to join in the conversation. He was twitching slightly and focusing his gaze on his friend. At times, his eyes would dart back to Sorciere as if he were afraid that he'd attack him. It was this that reminded Sorciere of a certain two-toned cat he'd met not too long ago... "Uh, dude," Vitani's friend addressed him warily. "Who is this?"

Though his friend was clearly distressed to some extent, Vitani seemed as collected as usual and completely unbothered. He shrugged casually. "Just some guy I ran into the other day... Literally."

The cat nodded slowly, his eyes still holding general distrust and suspicion.

With a twitch of one of his large ears, Vitani looked back up at Sorciere. "So," he took another long drag on his cigarette, letting the smoke leave his lips. The scent tickled Sorciere's nose, and he resisted the urge to swat the air. "What do you need? You in a pinch or something?"

A pinch? Sorciere took a moment to find a way to word his next sentences. He still was not used to the way that modern people spoke, and some of the words were foreign to his ears. However, he could not let this stop him. "Not that I am aware of; more like I'd like to get to know you better," his voice flowed out like water over stones. No matter how uneducated he was of the modern day world, he still had his charisma.

Vitani looked taken aback, his face reddening slightly as the other cat gave him an odd glance. "Uh... I have a girlfriend..."

Sorciere tilted his head. He was sure he hadn't spoken about anything remotely close to Vitani's love life. "Why would that matter?" He took a moment to process before realizing that perhaps his tone had been perceived as a bit flirty. He would have to work on that. "Oh, you needn't worry. I am not interested in romantic partners of any sort. I simply wanted to get to know you better and to, perhaps, get a tour of the town? I am considering moving in, but I do not know my way around just yet. Would you mind helping me out?"

The caracal frowned, dragging his fingers over his trademark red baseball cap. He gave his friend a pleading look, but the other feline simply shrugged. Finally, Vitani seemed to have given in. "Alright, sure. Whatever." He stood up, tapping his cigarette on the edge of an ash tray that sat upon the table and dropping it in. "What're you gonna do, Static?"

Vitani's companion shrugged, his curious gaze never leaving Sorciere. Sorciere felt strangely uncomfortable being under inspection by this cat. Eventually, Static shrugged again. "I guess I could see what Drake is doing. You just go do whatever." He extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray as well and grabbed a small, box-shaped object out of his sweater pocket. He began to type with quick fingers.

What in the world is that? Sorciere thought to himself. It must be some sort of a cellular phone. Why in the world was it so small? How inconvenient; one might lose it easily.

Vitani turned to look at Sorciere inquisitively. "You coming?"

Sorciere immediately set his thoughts about the phone aside and fell into step with Vitani as he began to lead the way further into the city. The caracal was tall and lanky, his legs much longer than Sorciere's. Every stride he took, Sorciere had to take many small steps to keep up.

"For starters, over there is the Sycamore park. It's known for all the beautiful trees all over the place as you can see. There's a small pond towards the center though it's not much for swimming. Pretty shallow and a bunch of frogs and ducks live around there, so I really wouldn't suggest it. Along the edge of one of the walking trails is the Great Sycamore; it's the tallest tree in the city. It's pretty strong, and a lot of the kids around town like to climb it sort of like it's some rite of initiation to live in Juniper. I mean, I know I did back when I was still in school. Fell down and busted my nose pretty badly. Now it's all sorts of junked-up. Breaks all the time," Vitani turned his head and angled his face down towards Sorciere slightly. Sorciere noticed a bandage laying across the bridge of Vitani's nose. He nodded, trying not to think of the pain that young Vitani must have felt when he'd fallen.

"Aha," Sorciere stated, craning his neck to look past Vitani's form. He couldn't see a particularly immense tree anywhere, but he believed his guide anyways.

"Anyways, most people just sort of stroll around when they have nothing to do there. I know that Clyde Lanski usually does his fitness instructing down there, and you can usually find the local wingnut psychics around, but I wouldn't go looking. They're a waste of money," Vitani moved onto the next topic and droned on and on. He was doing a much better and more thorough job at giving a tour than Kei had done, and Sorciere was absorbing every word.

After awhile of rambling, Vitani paused in his story-telling for just a second, turning to look at Sorciere with that usual calm expression of his. "Oh, I should probably have brought this up beforehand, but Juniper is sort of notorious for having gang activity. There's two of them; Steff's and Dexion's. Dexion's is less violent than Steff's by a landslide, but don't get me wrong. They'll still rob you blind or leave you feeling watched at all times. Dexion's is more of a bunch of unfortunate homeless kids trying to get by. Steff though.. Don't trust any of them at all. They're wild," Vitani let the words sink in before flicking an ear and turning back to Juniper. "Just thought I'd let you know. It's only fair if you know what you're getting into by moving here before you come in completely clueless."

Vitani started up again as the two passed by a cafe whose sign read 'Thanks A Latte.' Sorciere's guide brightened up as if this place drew back good memories. He even peered into the windows as if searching for someone, his tail whisking back and forth excitedly. He started into the story of the place itself and began to talk about a few of the workers there. He seemed to be a lot more comfortable with Sorciere now which made his rambling grow even longer and more detailed. Once they had passed by the cafe, Sorciere decided that now would be the time to start into action.

"I'm assuming you've lived here all of your life then?"

"Yep. All of it."

"That's fantastic. Do you like it here?"

Vitani thought for a moment before nodding languidly. "It's pretty nice. I've had my struggles, but who hasn't? For the most part, this place has been pretty kind to me. I've got friends and a nice home. What more could you ask for?"

Sorciere smiled warmly. "It certainly sounds pleasant. So, how about your family-- assuming you do have one, of course?"

The caracal winced at this, but he did not reprimand Sorciere for asking the question. He seemed cautious at first, hesitating on giving an answer before deciding to stay true to his personality and continue to be honest. "I do have a family, but I haven't seen them in a long time."

Nodding, Sorciere acknowledged that this was not a topic that Vitani felt comfortable with. He made a mental note to bring it up again in the future, but it was definitely not a priority. Changing up the question a bit, Sorciere tried again. "But you must not live alone?"

Vitani shook his head. "Nah, I live with some friends."

Sorciere feigned interest. "Who might they be?"

"Well, there's Static who you just met not that long ago. Real name's Joshua Trebs, but he hates his name. He's been my best friend since I started school here. We're tight. He's dating Drakien Finke; he lives with us too. I don't really like him, but he makes Static happy most of the time, so what can you do?"

With a nod, Sorciere ushered Vitani to continue.

"Fern Liu also lives with us, and she's pretty much the glue that holds us all together. She's a therapist in town, so everyone sort of flocks to her with their problems." A sort of dreamy look crossed over Vitani's facial features. "My fiance lives with us too. Her name is Kit Essie Sophia, and she is the most gorgeous woman you'll ever meet." Vitani almost looked giddy, surprising Sorciere. "I love her so much. We're set to be married not too long from now."

Sorciere smiled. "Congratulations!"

A lazy smile drew up Vitani's lips. "Thanks, man. I'm one lucky guy."

The yellow mage nodded. "I'm sure you are." At this moment, he remembered he was supposed to put in a good word for his other prodigy, Kei. He cleared his throat. "You wouldn't happen to know a Kei Driscoll, would you?"

Vitani still seemed to be in a dream land, his eyes reflective, and his ears lowered. He blinked and tilted his head, still walking. "She's that tiger-stripey wolf that's always down at the basketball court, right?"

Sorciere had no idea what basketball was, but nodded at the mention of tiger stripes. Kei's easily recognizable appearance was still very fresh in his mind.

Shrugging nonchalantly, Vitani replied, "Yeah, I see her around a lot. She's a little weird if I'm honest," He paused, looking the tiniest bit guilty. "Why? She's not your girlfriend or something, is she? Because I mean it's not like I don't like her or anything."

A brief lived image of Sorciere and Kei as a couple flashed through the yellow mage's mind, and he shuddered thoroughly. "Oh no, no, we're not a couple. We're simply..." Sorciere mulled over his words before testing out a new relationship status with Kei. "Friends, that's all. She wanted me to put in a good word for her to you. I think she might idolize you."

Vitani's ear flicked, and he looked thoughtful. "Hm..." He didn't have a distinguishable expression, but Sorciere noted a bit of an ego flair in Vitani's aura beneath the usual cool composure.

The two continued walking in silence for awhile with Vitani seemingly having forgotten that he was meant to be giving Sorciere a tour. Sorciere did not mind though. The quiet was welcome instead of awkward, and he could enjoy the sights of town for as long as he needed to without commentary.

As they kept walking, however, Sorciere spotted a large building with a strange, triangular structured roof. A large crucifix sat near the top of the building.

"Excuse me, Vitani, but what is that place?"

The building radiated a fair balance of mixed faith and crushed hope and dreams. He'd never seen, nor felt anything like it before, and it intrigued him with a desperation.

"Oh, that? That'd be the local church and shelter. It's sort of become a main place for homeless people to stay. A lot of people around town volunteer there to help out with food distribution and serving everyone."

Sorciere brightened at the word 'volunteer' and stopped listening as Vitani droned on about the residents. Perfect, he thought. Volunteers are generally good hearted, generous people, correct? What better place to find the rest of the lot? Abruptly, he cut his guide off. "Thank you for the tour, Vitani. I think I'd like to check out the church for myself."

Vitani seemed a bit surprised, but he dipped his head in acknowledgement. "Alright, well, I'm gonna go to the pool and swim a few laps. Are you gonna be okay on your own? Just because it's a church doesn't mean you won't get jumped or something, knowing this town."

"I assure you that I will be fine. Now you just go and have some fun. I very much appreciate all that you've done for me today," Sorciere said confidently.

His former guide casted a glance at the church and hesitated before sighing deeply and walking away. He still seemed as calm and composed as usual, but just this once, Sorciere thought he could sense a bit of... Worry in his aura? Was he concerned about Sorciere's well-being? How strange... 

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, what the fuck took me so long to write this?


	8. ★

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jezzy attempts to go about his everyday life, but it doesn't go as planned.

Pablo's Printing Press wasn't exactly the most exciting of all the work places in Juniper. In fact, the printing press was rather boring in comparison.

The exterior of the building was old, ancient one might even say with peeling brick walls and tendrils of ivy hanging down across the outside. A large smokestack sat on top of the roof though it was unused and disgustingly dirty. The letters on the front of the building were beginning to slip, and some of the residents were starting to place bets on which would fall first.

Despite all of this though, the business did surprisingly well. There was always something going on in this city, and almost everyone could be found at least once or twice a week with their nose buried deep in a newspaper.

Unfortunately, although the business did fairly well, the pay was definitely lacking. There were only a few workers at the press that stuck around long after they realized they deserved more money, and they were usually hopeless teenagers who had nothing else to do with their lives.

Jezzy was one of these hopeless teenagers; well, at least he was sometimes. In reality, Jezzy had never filled out any applications for the business, nor did he do any of the writing or actual printing. He simply filled in for the town slacker, Daichi Baisley.

Daichi was the town's paper boy, yet it seemed that the newspapers never got delivered when he actually showed up. He lived on a farm with his friend, Moon Heart Cowper and would much rather be sleeping in the loft than actually doing his job.

Jezzy was much more reliable and with his surplus of free time and his trusty old bicycle, he never failed to cover for his friend's shifts. Unfortunately, Jezzy had never had so much on his mind before. When did strange, yellow mages become such a recurring and scary thought?

"Whoa!"

"Hey!"

Two different voices cried out; one in surprise and one in indignation as Jezzy bumped into an ink-splattered canine who was carrying a humongous tower of papers. The canine stumbled forward, attempting to balance the papers before they toppled over completely. Yet another canine, this one with olive-colored fur and a not-too-happy expression on his face, darted forward from his hunched position over a desk. He rested his hands on the wobbling canine and attempted to help him out. All the while, he glared hotly at Jezzy.

"Now look what you've done! You nearly knocked Ink right over!" The olive-colored canine snarled angrily. He jumped into the air to snatch a loose paper that had flew from Ink's pile of newspapers. "Do you have any idea how much time that would have taken to clean up had they all fallen?!"

"It's fine really, Deva! I was just surprised is all; no harm done!" Ink stated, defending Jezzy to the best of his ability whilst stile concentrating on keeping the enormous tower of papers steady. "Besides, it wouldn't have taken that long to clean up..."

Deva growled and crossed his arms grumpily, the paper in his paws crumpling under his claws. "Speak for yourself..."

A few more papers fell towards the floor, floating back and forth through the air until Jezzy stepped forward to grab them. He extended his arm to hand the papers back to Ink before realizing that his coworker could most likely not see him past the trembling tower. He held the papers to his chest and frowned guiltily.

"Geez, I'm so sorry, Ink. I-I had something on my mind, and I wasn't looking where I was going and- Are you okay?"

Ink nodded, or at least Jezzy thought that he did. It was a bit hard to tell from his angle. "I'm fine, Jez, don't worry! It was a little mistake; no biggie!"

"Still..." Jezzy murmured before feeling a sudden, sinking feeling that someone was watching him. Deva, who had finally helped to steady Ink and his papers for good, smirked deviously. Jezzy turned on his heel swiftly and came face to face with none other than the owner of the printing press: Pablo, himself.

"Pab- Er, sir, I d-didn't know you were there! Is something wrong?" Jezzy asked, his voice conveying his worry much stronger than he wanted it to. "Do you have more papers for me to sort through, or deliver-"

Pablo held up a grizzled, ink-stained hand, silencing Jezzy with nothing more than a gesture. His arms crossed again as Jezzy's attention was focused on him, and he sighed deeply.

Pablo was an aged old dog with drooping, wrinkled features and tired eyes. His fur was messy and unkempt, and his clothing was just as bad off. He had owned his company for years, and for a long while, he'd been the only one working there. Now that he had workers of his own that were too scared to look for good-paying jobs, he didn't have much other to do than look for new articles and writers for his papers. Even with all of his free time, Pablo rarely left the building. He was always lurking around each corner, just waiting for one of the young ones to mess up, so that he could take over instead.

"No, no, your job's done for the day, and you know it. Don't know why you're sticking around. If you're lookin' for more work to do, you're not doing a good job of it. Nearly cost me a stack of papers, you did. What's on your mind, son?"

Jezzy snapped his head back to see if Deva, or Ink would help vouch for him and say that he wasn't always this clumsy. Unfortunately for him, Ink was long gone, and Deva was watching from his desk without any inclination to help. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying the show. His bushy tail thumped loudly at his side.

"I'm really sorry about bumping into Ink. I guess I was just... Daydreaming..." Jezzy responded, his head dipping low. "I thought I could stick around and help out around here. All I do is deliver the papers..."

Pablo frowned, scratching at his stubbly chin. He looked thoughtful. If any of his other workers had spoken to him like that, they would have had a rant and a half about respecting their boss and to stop mumbling at once to listen to. Jezzy had always felt as if Pablo held Jezzy with just the tiniest bit of higher regard than the others though.

"Well, you're not doin' much helping," Pablo began, and Jezzy winced. "But you're not doin' much harm either. I don't suppose you stickin' around longer than usual is such a bad thing, but I don't think the others would agree wi' me. I think you should jus' go home and rest up some. You've been jumpier than usual today. I think maybe a trip to the doctor's migh' help you some." 

Jezzy nodded weakly, handing the papers he'd obtained to his sort of boss and shuffling his foot on the hard linoleum floor. "Thanks for letting me off. Again, I'm really sorry about earlier..."

Pablo waved his hand, dismissing the problem with little more than a movement. "It's not a problem. Any one of those numbskulls coulda made the mistake, and they know it. Or at leas', they should know it." At this, Pablo sent a pointed glance towards Deva's direction. The olive-colored canine simply grumbled and got back to work.

There was nothing more that Jezzy could do or say. His 'boss' wanted him out of the place for the day, and it was all he could do to listen to him. As he turned and made his way towards the exit of the building, a rough hand rested on his shoulder, stopping him from going any further.

"Oh, jus' before you leave, here's your paycheck from las' week. I know you're not really hired here, bu' it's the leas' I can do for some young kid who volunteers all of his spare time at this place. Spend it wisely," Pablo said lowly, keeping his voice down so that Deva wouldn't hear him. He passed Jezzy an envelope with his name written on it in chicken scratch.

The two-toned cat accepted the envelope gratefully, placing it in his sweater's pocket. He was sure that the envelope only contained maybe fifteen dollars at the most, but it was enough for him. He lived on his own and didn't have to think wisely about spending his money on other people other than himself. It was one of the very minimal perks of being a lonely teenager fresh out of school.

"Thank you, sir. It means a lot to me," Jezzy said softly.

Pablo simply dipped his head and waved Jezzy off. There was nothing more to be said, and the message was clear: “You've done your part... Now leave."

With that, Jezzy walked over to the exit (ignoring the burning glare from Deva) and stepped outside into the afternoon sun.

It wasn't all that late yet, but at the same time, it wasn't early either. Sunshine illuminated the leaves and blades of grass all around the city and filtered across the roofs of the many, many buildings of Juniper. The warmth felt nice on Jezzy's face, and he blinked gratefully as it washed over him.

If only I could be thankful for this, Jezzy thought, working himself into a worry once more. I need someone to talk to about all of this weird stuff that's been going on. Or at least someone to help me calm down and think rationally about it. Who can I go to though? I've already bothered Dylan enough, and he's busy with his own problems. Besides, he's probably at school right now too. Maybe Daichi? Oh, who am I kidding? Daichi doesn't even care about his job let alone my problems. He's probably sleeping right now anyways. Lainey? I barely know her...

The more that Jezzy racked his brains for a solution to his problem, the less options he seemed to have. Dawn was a good friend, but he tended to ramble and not focus on the negatives like Jezzy did which wouldn't be too helpful in this situation. He and Jayden had hardly spared each other anything more than a passing glance in high school, and Jayden was busy with his kid and college classes now. Vixen was... Probably still mad...

Suddenly, Jezzy's ears perked up, and a grin began to curl up his face. He had come to a conclusion; who was better to vent to than your own best friend? How could Jezzy have forgotten her?

Mia! Of course! I'm sure she's not busy, and she's the type of person to always make time for her friends. Just who I needed! Jezzy thought excitedly. Mia's house isn't even that far from here! Just up Easy Street near the hospital...

Mentally taking the directions to Mia's house, Jezzy trotted away from Pablo's Printing Press and towards the direction of his soon to be saving grace.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jezzy hopped up the white, wooden steps to Mia's porch two at a time, leaping across the patio and up to the freshly-painted door. He laid a finger on the doorbell and pressed it once, listening to the familiar sound as it rang throughout the house. Mia hated it when people used the doorbell as it was rather loud and obnoxious, and she had yet to figure out how to disable it, but it was a surefire way to get her attention.

From inside, the curtains near the window shifted slightly before dropping back in place.

Jezzy was confused. The figure in the window hadn't looked like Mia. Feline, sure, but Mia, no. Did Mia have company? Perhaps her family was visiting...

A few moments later, the door handle turned, and Jezzy's self-proclaimed best friend since middle school poked her head out the door. Her teal ombre hair swept across her pert face freely. Her flower crown was somewhat askew, and Mia looked as if she had been perspiring, but this did nothing to spoil her good looks. She was wearing a black tank-top that read bluntly 'Sorry I'm late. I didn't want to come,' on the front. A pair of matching black sweatpants fit her frame, and she wore no shoes.

Jezzy smiled. This was your typical, everyday Mia. His best friend's casual and unaffected appearance made him feel just a little bit more comforted. The whole world could go to hell, and Mia would still be Mia.

"Hey, sunshine," Jezzy greeted pleasantly, giving Mia a shy wave. "I wasn't interrupting anything, was I?"

Mia tilted her head slightly, but returned the wave. "Hey, breadslice. You weren't really interrupting. Well, in all honestly, my yoga class was just starting up for the day, but it's not that big of a--"

Yoga? Wasn't yoga perfect for frazzled nerves?

Before Mia could continue, Jezzy clapped his hands together. "Perfect! Could I join in?" The two-toned cat rubbed his paws together sheepishly. "I-if you don't mind, of course. I'm just sort of... out of it today, and I wanted to de-stress."

"Well, that is what I'm here for, but..." Mia began before looking Jezzy up and down disbelievingly. "You... do yoga...?"

Jezzy nodded, completely oblivious to Mia's skepticism. "Oh yeah. I used to do some yoga every night before I went to bed, but I've sort of been skipping out for a couple of days... um, weeks..." He frowned inwardly. "Okay, so maybe I haven't done it in a while, but how hard could it possibly be?"

At this, Mia raised her eyebrows. She looked as if she had a retort in mind, but she had the decency to keep up her calm facade. "Well... alright. I guess it's fine. Come on in." She turned away from the door, her fluffy tail filling the doorway as she retreated back to the inside of her house. The tip of her tail brushed Jezzy's nose, and he held back a remark of his own as he followed his friend.

As per usual, Mia's house smelled very heavily of incense; Jezzy recognized this one as frankincense. The windows had very thin curtains that were held back for the tiny collections of succulents that lined the sills. A mason jar of daisies sat upon a lace tablecloth near the kitchen area of the house, and there were a few homemade truffles sitting on a platter nearby. Off in Mia's room (the door was wide open as usual), quiet classical music played. Every so often, the sounds of shuffling and chirping would accompany the music as Mia's pets tramped about their cages.

The flooring of the house was primarily wooden with a glossy look to it. A large, pastel rainbow exercise mat was spread out across the floor-- undoubtedly marking the spot where the yoga class was taking place. Two others were already stretching as they awaited for their teacher to return. They looked up as Mia and Jezzy entered the room, and Jezzy took in their appearance subtly.

The first student was a strongly built feline with brown and white fur and half-lidded eyes. They were donning a white tank-top and grey sweatpants, but they pulled it off rather well. Their eyes flickered back and forth between Mia and Jezzy almost suspiciously, but after a minute of thought, they seemed to deem Jezzy no threat and relaxed.

The other student was a lot less graceful than the brown feline. They were struggling to touch their toes on the the mat, straining as they reached. This feline was tan in coloration with different shades of brown spots on their fur and dark teal eyes. When they noticed Jezzy behind Mia, they blushed and hid behind their hands shyly as if being seen was suddenly a crime.

"Serenity, Ynara," Mia stated, addressing the brown cat and then the tan cat. "I hope you don't mind that my friend Jezzy here is going to be joining our class for today. It's not going to change anything about our routine, so don't worry and just relax," Mia stated with a clap of her hands. She turned to Jezzy and gave his outfit a disapproving glance. Solid-colored sweater and black sweatpants? Nothing new there. "Is that what you're gonna wear?"

Jezzy nodded, removing his shoes and stepping onto the mat leisurely. "Of course!"

Mia rolled her eyes. "Alright, well let's stop procrastinating on this, shall we? Let's start with the hero pose... or the heroine pose if you're Jezzy."

"Very funny," Jezzy said dryly, but he quickly shut his mouth as he realized he had no idea what the hero/heroine pose was. He sent a worried look in the direction of the others in hopes that they knew, which thankfully, they did. Though Ynara was struggling to keep her balance properly, she and Serenity were both on their knees in the correct pose. Jezzy followed suit immediately.

This isn't so bad, Jezzy thought, following a few breathing exercises with Mia as she went through a few additional steps. Why did I stop doing yoga anyways?

Mia slowly rose from her position on the ground and stretched her back pleasurably. "Alright, good. Now let's try some sun salutations."

Again, Jezzy looked to the other students for guidance and followed their every move. They first reached for the sky, then bent completely over at the waist, brought their hands to their knees, and crouched into a push-up that turned into a trunk lift towards the end. Though they did this very slowly, after a couple of times of doing this, Jezzy was beginning to feel the burn.

Oh, that's why I stopped, Jezzy thought as his legs began to wobble. He pushed through the discomfort though it grew and grew with each sun salutation.

When Mia stood up straight again, Jezzy half hoped that she was going to declare a break. After remembering that this was only the second pose, his ears lowered, and he fought the urge to quit right then and there. If this was going to help him de-stress, he needed to do this.

"Now let's do a head-to-knee bend. It's one of my personal favorites." Jezzy looked to Mia this time for instructions and thought that he might have seen just the faintest glimmer of mischief in her sea green eyes. He didn't initially understand why until Mia got into the pose, and his gaze shot down to between his legs.

How in the world was he supposed to do that without hurting himself somehow? Oh well, there was no backing down now. Besides, the girls made it look so easy...

Jezzy lowered himself back down on the mat and attempted to contort his body into the proper positioning. As he brought his head closer and closer to his knee, he couldn't help it. A yelp escaped from his lips, and he shot back up, his face reddened with embarrassment as the girls all turned to look at him.

Serenity snorted, and Mia's eyes crinkled up in the corners like they usually did when she was about to laugh. Ynara however, looked thoroughly horrified. She crawled over to Jezzy with concern in her eyes.

"Oh, dear. Are you alright?" Ynara asked, her voice light and breezy like storybook princess'.

Jezzy nodded, his face only growing redder. "Y-yeah, just fine."

"I thought you said that you could handle yoga," Mia said, one of her eyebrows cocking upwards with amusement.

Jezzy frowned. "Not my exact words, but I can! Just... maybe not that pose."

Mia's bushy tailed flickered back and forth impishly. She caught Serenity’s eye and winked. Serenity looked back to Jezzy's flushed face and raised her hand. Mia called on her immediately as if this was all orchestrated. "Yes, Seren?"

"I was wondering if we could maybe do the king pigeon pose? I've been practicing lately, and I think I might have it down," Serenity said, casting a lazily malicious look towards Jezzy.

'Uh-oh,' Jezzy thought, gulping. 'Anything that has 'pigeon' in it can't be good.'

Despite Jezzy's clear worry, Mia nodded. "Of course! Why don't you demonstrate for any newbies that might be in the room."

Serenity nodded placidly. She moved over to a more open part of the mat and began to contort herself into the most insanely complicated pose that Jezzy had ever seen in his life. Serenity's head was closer to her rear than should have been possible, and her taut stomach muscles strained as her body made an almost perfect 'O' shape. "How's this, teach?" Serenity grunted, her voice muffled by her tail.

"Looks perfect," Mia praised. "I can see that you've been practicing. Now, why don't the rest of you try it?"

Jezzy ignored her, staring at Serenity in horror. Was this cat made of jello? "Dear God, are you okay?" he asked, his voice cracking sharply. "What kind of torture technique is this?!" He turned to argue against himself doing such a pose, but Ynara beat him to it.

"M-Mia, I-I don't think I'm that advanced yet. Could we try something different; a little more my pace?" the tan cat asked timidly.

Jezzy silently thanked whatever deities might be above for Ynara. To his relief, Mia nodded thoughtfully.

"Of course, Ynara. I wouldn't want to strain you. Let's try something a little easier, shall we?"

"We shall," Serenity purred silkily, returning back to a normal sitting position and giving Jezzy a smug look. He ignored the cat-slinky and looked to Mia excitedly. Finally, something he could actually do... hopefully. His spirits were crushed, however, when Mia bent over, placed her hands on the mat, and pushed herself into the air in a perfect handstand.

"Try this one," Mia stated, her voice only the slightest bit strained.

Jezzy looked to Ynara for backup, but the tan cat looked relieved and nodded gratefully.

"Oh, that's much better. Thank you, Mia!" she said and to Jezzy's dismay, her scrawny arms pushed her into an only slightly wobbly handstand.

"Good job, Ynara." Mia turned her narrowed eyes to Jezzy. "Now you."

Jezzy swallowed his spit, cracking his neck nervously as he tried to work himself up to the ridiculous pose. He placed the palms of his hands on the ground and pressed down, shakily lifting his legs into the air. He had once been able to do a handstand, but only for a few moments at a time. Hopefully he had retained this skill from a young age.

Mia looked mildly impressed as Jezzy labored to keep himself held up. "Well done. I thought you weren't going to be able to-"

No sooner had Mia spoke did Jezzy's arms go out. He fell face first into the mat and rolled over with a groan of pain, clutching his nose. There was no blood, but the feeling of hot embarrassment and shame washed over him feeling just as bad as the pain in his face.

"Ow," he moaned, his voice muffled by his wrists. He felt a shadow fall over him, and he opened his eyes reluctantly to see Ynara nearly nose to nose with him. She looked completely horrified and though the others laughed, she did not.

"Oh gosh, are you okay?!" she asked, her voice dripping with concern. Her tail was fluffed out as if she had been the one to fall, not Jezzy. "Don't worry, I'm a doctor! Well, sort of. A doctor in training, I guess... No matter! Let me help you!"

Jezzy half-heartedly waved Ynara's hands away as she went to pry Jezzy's own hands from his face. "No, no, I'm fine. Nothing's broken... excluding my dignity..." He added under his breath.

"And besides, if anyone was more qualified to help him, it'd be me: the real doctor here," Mia put in, walking over to Jezzy and looking at him guiltily. "Are you okay, Jez? I shouldn't have picked on you."

The two-toned cat shook his head, standing up with the help of Ynara. He stumbled dizzily for a moment then found his balance once more. "I'm fine, really. I guess I'm just not cut out for yoga. I'd better just go home. Thanks anyways, Mia..." He slid his shoes on and turned to walk out the door. Mia was faster though, clasping a hand onto his shoulder and looking at him with genuine concern in her eyes.

"No, really, Jezzy; I'm sorry, I really am. Are you sure you're okay? Is there anything I can do for you? Anything at all?"

Again, Jezzy shook his head, softening his gaze to make sure that Mia knew he didn't hold any resentment towards the practical jokes. He had deserved them, and he knew it. There was no reason to be angry with his friend. "I swear that I'm fine, and it's okay, Mia. I guess yoga wasn't what I needed right now. I'll see you around though?"

Mia looked unconvinced and, being Mia, she pushed further, pulling Jezzy out of earshot of the other girls. "Are you really okay? You've been sort of out of it as of late. Is there something you're not telling me?"

Jezzy knew that once Mia put her mind to something, there was no if's and's or but's about it. He didn't want to tell her what he had been going through lately, but he had to tell her something to ease her mind. "It's just... I don't know. I guess I'm just freaking out over nothing." He sighed deeply, his ears flattening. "Things were so much easier in high school, Mia."

Mia frowned sympathetically. "Hey, it's okay. Not everyone knows what they want to do fresh out of high school. Just give it a year or two, and you'll know. You just need some time is all. You're always welcome here until then. You're my best friend, Jezzy. Don't you go forgetting that. If you ever need anything, you know I'm here." As an afterthought, she wrapped her arms around Jezzy and pulled him in for an awkward hug.

Jezzy was somewhat taken aback. Never in all of the school years that he and Mia had been friends had Mia been a hugger. She had gone through tough experiences with physical contact in the past, and she had a bubble that was to be respected. This was never usually a problem, but it just meant to cherish her hugs and hand-holding with all of your heart for it never came easily to her. "I thought you weren't a hugger," Jezzy stammered.

"I'm not, but you looked like you needed it," Mia responded. "Go home, and get some rest. I think it will do you some good. Take care of yourself, you big dork. I love you."

Jezzy stood still for a moment before dipping his head with acknowledgement. "I love you too, you bigger dork. Have a good rest of your day."

With that, Jezzy departed from Mia's house, closed the door behind him, and began to make his way home. Maybe yoga hadn't helped him to feel any better about his Sorciere problems, nor his career path confusion, but Mia's kind words had definitely lifted a weight from his shoulders.

<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>

The sound of Jezzy's sneakers tapped along the sidewalk as he strode towards his house. It was getting chillier out than it had been earlier, and he was very thankful for his sweater. Brushing his thumb along the envelope in his pocket, he whistled to himself. He was going to go home, change into some pajamas and take a nap, and the thought of sinking into his comfortable bed couldn't please him more.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the streets of Juniper had other ideas for the two-toned teenager. No sooner had he began to fantasize about sinking into his plush covers, a pair of strong hands locked onto Jezzy's arms, pulling them behind his back and dragging him backwards towards a shady alleyway.

"Hey! Let me go!" Jezzy snapped to attention and cried out though his voice was quiet and shaky as he still hadn't quite processed what was going on. He had simply been walking on his way home, and now here he was, getting ambushed again for the second time that week. Who could it possibly be this time?

Jezzy silently cursed himself for spacing out. If he had been paying attention, this wouldn’t have happened. Now he had no idea what would happen to him next… The endless possibilities filled him with dread.

"Oh, hush up, kitty cat, we haven't even gotten to the fun part yet," a husky voice said, a hint of amusement underneath the tough cover-up. The owner of the voice held even tighter onto his arms which were already beginning to smart from the position they were in. "Hey, Ryan! Run ahead and tell the gang that I caught someone snooping around the alleys, will ya?" they called to yet another figure that was further off in the distance. The sound of departing footsteps told Jezzy that Ryan was just another gang member and would not be offering him any help.

For some reason, Jezzy's throat felt constricted. He couldn't call out for help, and he allowed himself to be dragged limply by his captor as if all of the fire in him had dissipated. He felt like a rag doll being pulled along, and hopelessness washed over him. Of course he was getting ambushed on the night he got his paycheck. It was as if they had waited for this very moment to go after him and take what was rightfully his.

"You're being rather quiet, ain'tcha?" his captor purred, and Jezzy detected only the slightest hint on femininity in the depths of their voice. "Well, that's fine. We'll change that in a minute, or so."

Eventually the two reached an open alley that seemed to be close to the local art studio in town. A broken streetlight sat near the center of the alley, flickering weakly and illuminating the malevolent faces of none other than Dexion's gang. It seemed that Ryan had done his job and alerted the others as they were all prepared to watch Jezzy suffer. There were at least eight of them, but their leader was nowhere to be seen.

Jeering and laughter broke out around the crowd of anthros as they pointed at Jezzy who was dragged front and center. At the sight of all of them, Jezzy began to struggle against his captor. They didn't take kindly to this, shoving him forward into a plum-and-mulberry-colored feline wearing fingerless gloves. The plum cat smirked and shoved Jezzy back towards his other aggressor, giving him a good look of her. She was a light brown feline with cream markings and an anything, but friendly look on her face. She pushed Jezzy back towards the other feline and began a game of monkey in the middle.

Jezzy stumbled back and forth between the two cats, causing the crowd to cheer and laugh and otherwise make fun of him.

"Here, kitty, kitty!"

"First day on your new feet?!"

"Harder, Annemarice!"

"Hit him again, Asher!"

"What an idiot!"

Jezzy looked for any kind of sign that not everyone was in on this cruel game. There had to be at least one person who would stop this and help him. His eyes searched the crowd desperately for a familiar face, and he found not just one, but two: a husky/wolf mix named, Mandy Kayas and a Maine Coon cat named Sashira Harn.

The two girls hadn't been friends with Jezzy exactly, but they had been on good terms at the very least. He looked at them with surprise, hoping that just one of them would remember him and take pity on him, but Mandy turned away, and Sashira looked down at the ground guiltily.

Jezzy had no time to feel betrayed as he was carelessly flung to the ground. He felt the knees of his sweatpants rip open, and his skin scraped against the ground. He bit his lip to contain a whimper and attempted to get back up. This didn't sit well with the plum cat as he darted forward and knocked him back down again. Over and over, Jezzy tried to stand, but to no avail as he was tackled and pushed right back to the ground.

Eventually, Jezzy gave up on getting back on his feet and his fantasy of going straight to bed untouched. He covered his face with his arms as the brown cat threatened to send a well-aimed kick his way. At this, the other aggressor turned his attention to Jezzy's back. Jezzy hurriedly pulled up his sweater to cover his face and threw his arms back to cover himself.

"Oh, you wanna play that way, pussycat? Fine, then," the plum cat growled, throwing his weight on top of Jezzy and straddling him as he began to lift his victim's sweater over his head.

Jezzy struggled against him, simultaneously attempting to free himself and keep his sweater down. Neither of these were happening, and the looming gang member above him sneered.

"Aw, quit it. It's not like you're hiding anything impressive. Man, you're scrawny!"

At this, the crowd broke into an even louder session of hooting and hollering; all of them were applauding the cat, Asher's, roughhousing. This only seemed to encourage Asher further, and he leaned forward threateningly, looking into Jezzy's terrorized eyes.

Suddenly, a loud, clear voice rang out, causing everyone to grow deathly silent.

"Hey, knock it off!"

Jezzy looked up hopefully, turning his head to look at the newcomer. Perhaps the police had arrived to save him? His chest heaved for breath before freezing entirely as Jezzy's heart sunk.

The newcomer was none other than Dexion Trouse.

Dexion stood intimidatingly in the entrance of the alleyway. His shoulders were tense, and his amber eyes were narrowed with hostility.

The gang members began to protest and complain as they realized who had called out against their little game.

"Aw, come on, Dex!"

"We were just having a little fun!"

"We weren't actually hurting him!"

"You never let us do anything!"

Annemarice took it a step further, glaring at Dexion accusingly. "You're going soft!" she cried.

"That's enough!" Dexion howled, and once more the alleyway went silent. He snarled, showing his sharp, white teeth that glinted in the flickering streetlight's glow. "I want him for myself."

At this, the group's toothy grins returned to their faces, and they called out in agreement, suggesting all the violent things that Dexion should do to his next victim. Asher hoisted Jezzy back to his feet almost effortlessly and thrust him towards the gang leader. Jezzy careened forward and nearly fell before Dexion's arm shot out and grabbed him by the hoodie. He yanked Jezzy back up straight and then tugged the smaller boy after him. Once the two were out of eyesight, and the commotion was muffled, Dexion threw Jezzy up against a wall.

"Oof!" Jezzy huffed. He felt himself get pinned by Dexion (a very familiar occurrence) and the anger inside him began to rise. He couldn't go one day without something crazy happening to him, and he was not in the mood to deal with Dexion. A low, almost inaudible growl bubbled in Jezzy's throat.

"I keep running into you, two-tone. Haven't you figured out that this part of town is mine yet? I pegged you as the smart type, but I must have been wrong," Dexion taunted, peeling back his lips in a sneer.

Jezzy grimaced, turning his head away from Dexion. "Y-yeah, so maybe I am dumb for going this way, but it's my only choice. The other way is where..." Jezzy swallowed. "Steph's gang is. Compared to those guys, you're a walk in the park."

Dexion looked almost thoughtful for a moment, looking Jezzy over as if he were actually pondering what the teenager had just said. This made Jezzy even angrier. Flicking his tail irritably, he spoke harshly, "Why are you talking to me anyways? What do you care? Aren't you going to beat me up and rob me blind? You might as well take my paycheck; I just got it today. It's in my sweater pocket if you really want it."

The large canine's ears lowered, and his eyes widened with mild surprise at Jezzy's scathing tongue. In all of the occasions that he'd picked the feline, he'd never mouthed off before. Jezzy couldn't find it in him to care though. He'd been pushed far enough.

Finally, Dexion scoffed. "You know, I don't remember you being so mouthy before. What happened to crying and begging me for mercy?"

"Sorry to disappoint," Jezzy mumbled. "But I have worse things to worry about than you right now."

Dexion tilted his head. "Yeah? Well, I'd stick to the crybaby act. It's cuter," and with that, he let Jezzy drop to the ground in an exhausted pile of fur. The cat looked up at Dexion with wide, questioning eyes, but Dexion ignored him, continuing to speak. "Take your paycheck and go, but next time we meet up," he paused to brush a hand across Jezzy's sweat-matted cheek. "You better be kicking and screaming."

Jezzy didn't need to be told twice. He struggled to his feet and ran away from Dexion, his fingers on the paycheck on his pocket. He'd managed to keep it in tact and somehow made it away from Dexion and his gang without any major injuries. Perhaps his luck was beginning to pity him and turn around for the better.

As the poor, bedraggled teenager raced away from the back-alley, his mind shot to the possibilities of where he could hide out and calm down for awhile. He made his way further away from Dexion's gang and spotted Dawnstar and Celeste's house in the distance.

Putting on a little more speed though his legs were very sore, Jezzy dashed up to his friends' door and knocked, his gaze flitting around nervously. He didn't have to wait long before Dawnstar opened the door. When the lazy golden retriever's eyes landed on Jezzy, they widened with surprise.

"Whoa there, paperboy. What happened to you? You look like you went through a paper shredder."

Jezzy blinked rapidly, staring past Dawnstar and into his house. "I'll explain in a minute. Can I just come in, please?"

Dawnstar nodded, moving out of the way so that Jezzy could enter. "Always welcome, brother. Come on in."

Jezzy speed-walked inside and mentally breathed a sigh of relief when Dawnstar shut the door behind him. He was finally in a safe place with nice people who weren't going to hurt, attack, or mug him. What more could he ask for?

"You can wash up in the shower. I'll get some tea started," Dawnstar declared, his tail wagging slightly. As he ducked away into the kitchen that was separated from the living room by a divider of hanging beads, he called, "Let me know if you need the first aid kit."

Jezzy limped further into the house, still unsteady on his paws. He was more than a little disoriented, and he leaned against the wall for support. He heard a page flip and looked up to see Celeste who was sitting in a chair across the room, sipping out of a cup, and reading the newspaper. The peachy feline glanced up and then back down to her paper. "Nice sweater," she commented dryly.

The two-toned cat looked down quickly and noticed a large tear that started near the bottom of his sweater and reached up to around half of the side of his sweater. He blushed self-consciously. He hadn't even noticed. How many people saw me like this? he wondered nervously.

"Aw, jeez..." Jezzy whimpered aloud.

"Shower's over there. Just warning you, the piping's messed up: the further you turn the handle, the colder the water gets. You can use one of the towels when you're done. I'll patch up your hoodie," Celeste's monotonous voice droned from her position on her chair.

Jezzy dipped his head. "Thank you..."

Celeste did not look up, simply holding out a hand for his sweater.

Jezzy blushed and sheepishly took his sweater off after struggling like a fool with it and held it out to Celeste. She took the clothing article, again not looking up. Despite the fact that she clearly had no interest in looking at Jezzy at the moment, he covered his now bare chest and hurried to the shower.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The shower was quick and mainly for washing away the dusty grime that coated Jezzy's palms and kneecaps. He didn't take any time to savor the feeling of the hot water on his body. His lop-sided shoulders felt more tense than ever, and his back was sore. Every inch of his body was aching, and little bruises were beginning to form.

There had been a brush on the edge of the sink with Dawnstar's red, white, and blue hair trapped in its bristles, and Jezzy had thought to use it as his own bangs were messier than all hell. He brushed them out of his face and looked at himself in the mirror for awhile. He didn't usually show both of his eyes when he went out places because his one green and one yellow eyes tended to unnerve people, but he trusted Dawnstar and Celeste to be much less judgmental than the rest of the city.

Departing from the shower, Jezzy stepped out in a cloud of steam. Dawnstar was already waiting for him, sitting on the couch next to Celeste's chair. He patted the seat beside him, and Jezzy walked over to join him. Sitting down, he was offered a steaming cup of tea (chamomile by the smell of it). He took a dainty sip while the golden retriever next to him chugged more than half of his cup. When he had had his fill, Dawnstar let out a little 'ah', licked his lips, and spoke.

"So, what happened out there, little dude? You looked like a mess, no offense."

Jezzy sighed deeply. "What didn't happen? I ran into Dexion's gang."

Dawnstar winced with a sympathetic look on his face. "Aw, that's the worst. Those guys are some real boneheads. They didn't rough you up too badly, did they? I can drive you down to the hospital if you need to go."

Jezzy shook his head despondently. "No, I'm fine. It's just..." He looked up at Celeste who was hand-sewing the rip in his sweater while a pair of glasses balanced on the tip of her nose. "My sweater..."

The golden retriever to his side sighed. "Celeste will fix it up no problem. Sucks that it happened to you though. They're usually not the violent ones, I've heard. Steff's more into the whole fighting business. Lady Dexion's gang is just a bunch of confused kids."

Jezzy's ear twitched at the sound of 'Lady Dexion.' As if that punk was royalty. "Yeah, I recognized some of them from my high school grade."

Again, Dawn frowned sympathetically before his ears perked up promptly, and his half-lidded eyes grew wide. "Speaking of, you didn't happen to actually look at the newspaper today, did you? I mean, I know you deliver, but you don't strike me as much of a reader."

"Used to be, but I don't like reading the paper anymore," Jezzy said with a shrug. "Makes me anxious.”

Dawnstar nodded. "Rightfully so. Anyways, you just reminded me of the headline today. It's breaking news; a little girl went missing today during school."

As the words were processed slowly in Jezzy's still battered brain, he sat up more alertly. "Really? Who was it?" Immediately, his mind went to Lainey. His heart clenched. He hoped nothing bad happened to her. Maybe Sorciere had gone after her at last.

Rubbing his neck, Dawnstar glumly responded. "Kyandii Buckland. She was a twelve year old at the school. Good student, lively, friendly person, and never got herself in trouble. Was friends with that Delancy girl in town. She only lived around here during the school year, and then she went home to some other place. Her parents are worried sick about her."

Jezzy squashed down the sickening relief that it had been some girl he hadn't known instead of Lainey and instead allowed the shock to wash over him. He cracked his knuckles loudly. "Was she abducted, or...?"

"The paper didn't say much because hardly anything is known yet. Seems like she just disappeared. There wasn't any trace of her around lunch supposedly, but her book bag and locker were still in tact. There was no sign of a struggle anywhere around in the school, and there are no leads whatsoever. Totally spooky if you ask me."

Jezzy swallowed thickly. "That's... That's horrible."

Dawnstar nodded earnestly. "It really is, but what can you do? There are some twisted people out there."

"Tell me about it..." Jezzy said with a nod; bitter memories of being mugged, abducted, and otherwise assaulted by the gangs around town flooding his mind. It seemed odd that either of the gangs would stoop down so low as to steal children away, but Jezzy wouldn’t put it past them.

Wasn’t there a more plausible suspect though? Perhaps the one stranger who had been on his mind ever since he had met him… Sorciere… Was he the kidnapper who had stolen away Kyandii from her family?

There was a moment of tense silence before Celeste cleared her throat, nearly causing Jezzy to jump out of his fur.

"Your sweater's done," she stated indifferently. Though her tone of voice was surprising in regards to the story that held heavily in the air, Jezzy knew that it was only because Celeste had trouble with understanding typical emotions. She tried to hide it with a cool facade, but it was usually quite obvious.

Jezzy accepted his sweater from Celeste and threw it over his head. "Thanks, Celeste. I owe you one."

Celeste shrugged nonchalantly.

Standing up, Jezzy stretched and held out his cup of tea to Dawnstar. "Well, it's been nice, and I really appreciate it, but I'd better get going. I didn't realize how late it was getting, and I haven't eaten all day. Thanks, though. You guys are the best."

Dawnstar nodded lazily. "Any time."

Jezzy swiveled on his heel towards the door and took a few steps before Dawnstar spoke again.

"And, paperboy?"

The 'paperboy' turned his head to look at the golden retriever questioningly.

"You be safe out there. Something fishy is going on, and I don't want anything to happen to you."

Jezzy dipped his head, warmth spreading through his chest. Dawnstar genuinely cared about him. Despite all of the not-so-nice things that had happened today, Jezzy still had friends that loved him deeply. "I'll be careful. Thanks, Dawn."

With that, Jezzy slipped outside as the sun began to dip lower and lower in the dusky sky. He began his way home, careful to stay away from alleyways. He had learned his lesson, and thought he doubted that Dexion and his gang would go for round two, he didn't want to take that chance.

The longer Jezzy walked, the more obvious his hunger began to grow. He tried to ignore it for a long while, thinking to himself that he could go one day without food. Unfortunately, his stomach had other ideas. It growled painfully, and Jezzy doubled over with a gasp.

Groaning, Jezzy thoughts changed pace. Okay, maybe I should stop running all over the place and actually get something to eat. He pulled his miniscule paycheck out of his sweater pocket woefully and looked up to the neon, glowing sign of Beronico's Italian Restaurant in the near distance.

With a grimace, Jezzy opened up his paycheck and fished out the soon to be parted with money. 

Well, it was good while it lasted...

The miserable teenager padded towards Beronico's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unf I love this chapter


	9. ☆

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorciere continues on his quest of finding the chosen ones and finds himself in a church.

Sorciere watched Vitani depart for a few heartbeats before he entered the church and looked around. The building was built in Gothic fashion architecture, and strange stained glass windows let sunlight bathe the place in color. The most odd paintings of an adult man on a crucifix were hung in extravagant frames around the interior, and Sorciere could not decipher why this place filled of hope could ever want such morbid decor.

The scent of something savory suddenly swamped Sorciere's senses, and his mouth began to water. He passed by a large room where an expansive number of beds were thrown about. An olive colored feline was sitting on a bed and arguing with a pale maroon cat to his side. A small dark grey and pink canine was sucking on her thumb over in a corner as she rolled a toy car across the floor. Sorciere recognized her as the child who he'd convinced he'd had candy for whilst exploring the town. A violet colored horse was speaking to another similarly olive colored feline who seemed to be very argumentative. The equine was well-manned though and kept her voice level.

Sorciere moved on to a much larger area where tables upon tables were set up. Across the room, a counter sat where some ladies served bowls of a the delicious smelling soup Sorciere had caught a whiff of. Among the ladies were a pale blue canine with scruffy fur and bright eyes, a brown St. Bernard with a grizzled muzzle, and peachy colored feline who donned a large pink bow on her right ear. The most striking woman though, caught Sorciere's wandering gaze.

She was a kindly looking, plump wolf with white fur that was splotched with pink markings. She had a tribal looking gem on the center of her forehead, and she radiated the warmth of motherly love and nurturing. There was not a singly spot of negativity coming from her. She had a warm smile and a very gentle way of going about things.

Her, Sorciere thought, but before he could walk over and introduce himself, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and came face to face with a light yellow lynx-mix with tufted black ears and striking, violet eyes. Those pretty eyes sparkled happily. A preppy teenager with a sunshiney exterior, she had a bright smile. She was curvy, and her features were round and child-like. Around her neck was a brown, spiked collar with a pair purple cherries hanging from it. Her bobtail flickered with excitement. She gave Sorciere a friendly look and spoke, "Hey there! I don't think I've seen you around the church before. You must be new here, right?"

Sorciere slowly nodded. "Yes..."

The lynx smiled. "That's okay! I promise that there's nothing to worry about here. We have plenty of room for other people, and we've got good meals three times a day. Today we're serving clam chowder which is a personal favorite of mine," her eyebrows furrowed with concern. "You're not allergic to clam, are you?"

The yellow feline was a bit overwhelmed. This girl spoke very quickly, and her voice lilted upward with a girly pitch. It was all a little much after listening to Vitani's low and mellow tone for a long while. "Er, no. No, I am not."

Brightening immediately, the cheery girl continued with her welcome. She seemed very spacey. "Great! Well, since I'm guessing you don't know the system here, I'll help you get settled."

All of a sudden, another voice called out of the crowd. It came from a jet black feline near the back of the counters. He was draped in a white robe, and he seemed to hold some sort of authority here. "Vixen, I hate to interrupt you, dear, but I'm going to need your help in the kitchen!"

Vixen's ears lowered apologetically; she seemed a bit embarrassed. "Scratch that. I can't help you right now, but I'm sure any one of the residents here would be more than willing to help you out." She extended a finger and pointed towards a table in the back of the church where two scrawny girls were seated. One of the girls was a shih-tzu with primarily brown fur and sea green hair. The other girl was an ice blue feline with coffee brown, untrusting eyes. "Why don't you ask one of the girls?"

Sorciere gave Vixen a strange look. He wasn't quite sure about what was going on and was, frankly, still a bit overwhelmed. He was about to decline the offer when his stomach growled loudly. The yellow mage hadn't realized how hungry he actually was until he caught the scent of the food inside the church. "A-alright then, thank you..."

"Vixen," Vixen finished his sentence for him, and extending a hand in a friendly fashion.

Sorciere realized that this girl wanted him to shake her hand. He did so, shaking it gingerly. "I am Sorciere. It's... Nice to meet you."

Vixen grinned brightly before speed-walking over to the kitchen area.

Hesitating very briefly, Sorciere mulled over all that had just happened before his stomach growled again, this time more insistent and audible. "Alright, alright," he scolded his grumbling belly. He waltzed over to the girls who looked up at him disinterestedly. The blue cat, he noted, seemed entirely more suspicious. The canine, on the other hand, seemed to not be capable of caring any less than she already didn't.

Suddenly, Sorciere felt awkward. He wasn't even remotely aware of what the nice lynx intended for him to do, so he decided to improvise to the best of his ability. "Ah, um, hello there," he started.

"What do you want?" the blue feline responded coldly, her eyes narrowed.

Sorciere tugged at his oversized shirt color awkwardly. He had no idea that a couple of preteens could be so intimidating. "Ahem, I'm... New here, and I was told to ask about the 'system.' You wouldn't happen to know it, would you?"

The two girls exchanged a look.

The more suspicious girl began to speak more aggressively. "What kind of question is that? Of course we know the system here. We live here," she growled lowly. "Look buddy, whatever you're selling, we're not interested."

Cocking an eyebrow, the shih-tzu spoke up, her voice level. "Don't speak for me, Veera," she turned to Sorciere. "You really don't know the system here?"

Sorciere nodded quickly, trying to ignore the death glare that Veera was giving her friend. He tried to push away the memory of Vitani's warning of being jumped in a church.

With a sigh, the canine stood up from her chair. "Come on, I'll show you how it works."

Veera's expression changed from anger to irritated surprise. "You're kidding me. We were having lunch together!"

The other girl shrugged, the dark circles under her eyes creating the illusion that she was much older than she actually was. "Somebody has to show him how the place works."

"I think you're missing the point," Veera growled louder. "We were having a lunch together," she stressed the last word immensely.

Again, Sorciere's defender shrugged. "We weren't doing anything new."

Veera gasped sharply, but this girl had no time for her accusations. She shuffled across the floor. "Come on."

Sorciere casted a worried glance in Veera's direction before scurrying after his new guide. He figured that he must look strange, a tall man following a small girl like a lost puppy, but he dismissed it to the best of his ability. "Um, ahem, is your... 'Friend' going to be angry with us?"

The small girl looked unbothered. It seemed that nothing could make her express any emotion other than exhaustion. She looked like she hadn't slept in days with messy hair and bags under her lime green eyes. "She'll get over it," she stated matter-of-factly. "Anyways, where are you from?"

The yellow mage swallowed his spit. "Not here," he muttered.

With a nod, the girl replied, "Fair enough. And you are?"

"Sorciere."

She paused in her steps at this, nearly causing Sorciere to trip over her. She thought for a moment before nodding her head. "Unusual name, but fitting considering the getup. You some sort of a street performer or something?"

Sorciere shook his head then remembered that the speaker was in front of him and could not see his physical responses. He's not used to following the leader, but it was what he'd been doing all day long. "No, I'm not."

The girl sniffed and went quiet again, leading the way towards the room that Sorciere had walked by earlier, the one with all the beds.

The yellow feline had been waiting for the girl to go on, but she didn't so he took matters into his own hands. "Well?"

Her ear twitched. "Well, what?"

"Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

She shrugged. "That's not important."

Sorciere's dark eyes widened. He'd never met anyone with as much disdain towards life as this particular dog. "I'd like to think that one's name is very important."

She snorted in response. "Agree to disagree," she paused, milking the silence just a bit more to irritate Sorciere before finally introducing herself. "The name's Reuben. Most of the people here call me Gidget, so take your pick."

Sorciere frowned. "Do you have a preference?"

Reuben stopped walking and turned for just a moment, giving Sorciere a dry look. "Does it look like I do?"

The yellow mage struggled to understand the complexity of this girl's personality. All of the other citizens he'd met personally had had set and transparent personalities. Vitani was calm and collected, Kei was stubborn and confident, and Vixen was bubbly and friendly. Reuben, on the other hand, was none of the above. It was like she was on a whole other level.

"Ah, well--" Sorciere began.

"Don't answer that," Reuben interjected. "You're never gonna last a day here if you try to answer every question you're asked honestly. You're gonna get played sooner or later. Anyways, here are the bunks."

Sorciere looked around at the multitude of homeless residents. They all looked tired and, for the most part, grumpy. They scowled and looked at him then back to their beds as it daring him to try and take their possessions from them. Sorciere realized that those very beds may very well be the only possessions that these people had. He frowned sympathetically before arguing with himself internally to stop feeling bad for these people. There were probably good reasons behind them being homeless and without a job in the first place. They looked like slackers. "Aha... Well, this is all very nice and all, but I truly have no intention of staying here."

Reuben cocked an eyebrow at Sorciere, looking him up and down as if calculating some unknown equation. "That's what they all say, but eventually they all end up here for good. We just can't seem to get our feet on the ground."

Sorciere scoffed. "Well, I assure you that I will not be staying here."

The canine's expression softened, and for just a second, she almost looked as sympathetic as Sorciere had felt just a moment ago. The glimmer of emotion was quickly hidden by a brick wall of sarcasm however. "Right... Well, don't say I didn't tell you so."

Suddenly, Sorciere's stomach rumbled loudly, and he covered it with embarrassment.

Reuben smiled a dry smile with not even a trace of joy. She snorted. "You sound hungry. I'll just show you how the food system here works and then let you be."

Sorciere nodded appreciatively. "I truly am grateful."

She shrugged. "No problem on my part. Follow me," and with that, she head him back to the room where she had been sitting with Veera before. Sorciere noticed that Veera herself had moved across the room to the far back. Her glare reached him even from where he stood, but Reuben, unsurprisingly, was not affected.

Reuben led Sorciere over to where a small line of people were waiting with trays in their hands. They were going through the line of slightly varied choices of food being served by the nice ladies form before. In the middle, the kind wolf from before was still standing, looking just as bright as ever. Sorciere wondered how she and Vixen could keep their spirits up while working with people as gloomy as they were, but then realized that they did not live here.

"Well, here's the line for the food. You basically just go through it and tell the ladies what you want. They'll serve it to you, and then you go take a seat at the tables. They don't ask for much in return. Technically we're supposed to at least try to find a job and work while we live here so we can pay them back for all the money they spend on us, but we all stopped trying a long time ago. The church shelter is being funded by the Kimura family and Fitz Gueroi, so they have a surplus of money to waste on us."

Sorciere tilted his head. "The Kimura family and Fitz Gueroi being..."

Reuben looked mildly surprised at Sorciere's confusion before seemingly reminding herself who she was dealing with.

Suddenly, Sorciere felt self conscious. He hadn't realized how much of the world he'd been missing all these years of practicing magic in his cave, ignoring the huge world outside. Everything had changed so much since he was little.

"The Kimura family is this extremely rich family that used to live in the area. The mother was out of the picture, and the father was a gambler, but he basically inherited money and invested into the stock market, so I don't think he's ever experience poverty in his life. He's got three kids, Chief, Jewel, and Maru, if I remember right. They were really fond of this city, so they spend a lot of their money on us. Fitz Gueroi is some singer that lives a little bit out of the city scene. He's a rising singer, so he doesn't give us half of the money that the Kimuras do, but he's definitely providing."

Sorciere nodded. "Aha..."

Reuben shook her head. "Just get in line. If you wait any longer, you might drive me crazy. Your stomach sounds like it's trying to digest itself."

Blushing, Sorciere nodded.

"Trays are over there," Reuben said, motioning towards a stack of trays. "See you around, Sorciere," she gave him a half-hearted wave and then shuffled off back towards the bunks. Sorciere watched her with interest for a while, finally starting to pinpoint her personality. He'd never met someone like her before. She was small in stature, couldn't be more than fifteen years old, and yet, it seemed like she already carried the burden of the world on her shoulders. She held an inner sadness and almost hollowness past her tough exterior, and Sorciere could tell that on the inside, Reuben was really just a small child. She was simply highly intelligent, far past her years.

Such an interesting individual could be useful to keep everyone on their toes in the dream plane, Sorciere marked her down as a potential candidate. He then grabbed a tray and began to follow the line as everyone else did. As he went through the line, he accepted whatever smelled good to him from the lunch ladies which seemed to be everything. He noticed that all the ladies that spoke to him seemed quiet, timid, and professional. They would ask only what he'd like to eat and then give the food to him like robots. When he finally got to the white wolf from before though, she smiled warmly at him.

"You must be hungry, and you're such a scrawny thing too. Would you like a bowl of clam chowder? It's very good," her voice was deep and rumbling like distant thunder, but it held no malign or evil intent. She had a different drawl of tongue than the other residents of Juniper that Sorciere had met thus far, and he concluded that she must not have originated here.

Sorciere suddenly felt small like a tiny toddler again. This woman reminded him so strongly of his own mother, it nearly made him weak in the knees. He could almost imagine the feeling of her arms around him and her voice telling him that everything would be alright. He swallowed thickly and nodded. "Y-yes please."

"I thought you might like to try some. Well, we've got plenty!" She scooped him a bowl, adding a little bit more than she did for everyone else in the line with a wink.

The yellow mage smiled and thanked her. He grabbed a water bottle from the end of the line and went to sit down at a table all by himself, not too far from where he got his food in the first place. He positioned himself and placed a napkin on his lap. Holding the bowl to his face, he took a sip of the chowder. Instantly, it was as if he was warmed from head to toes. He relaxed, his muscles releasing their built up tension. It had been so long since he had been properly cared for, and it felt nice to have someone provide for him. He sat and relished the taste on his tongue, leisurely look around the church and feeling more at ease in the building. His solitary did not last long though.

"Hey! Do you mind if I sit here?"

Sorciere looked up to see Vixen walking over, a styrofoam container in one hand, and the back of a chair in her other one. Her eyes looked hopeful.

"Of course. I mean, no, I don't mind. Just... Go ahead," Sorciere had been so relaxed that he'd momentarily forgotten his usual charisma, reducing him to a flustered mess. This did not seem to bother Vixen however. She smiled and pulled the chair up to the table, sitting down heavily with a puff of air. She must have been on break to be able to join him at last. Shifting around until she was finally comfortable, she sent Sorciere an amiable gaze.

Sorciere quickly came to the conclusion that Vixen was no one to be scared of, allowing himself to let his guard down and take another sip of chowder.

"Bet you've never tasted chowder so good before, huh?" Vixen questioned, smiling. It seemed like she was already expecting a 'yes.'

Sorciere nodded. "It has certainly exceeded my expectations."

Vixen grinned. "Not to brag, but the volunteer crew really knows how to make a mean showder. Their pasta is pretty good too, especially the spaghetti. It's to die for. I'm not super good at cooking or anything yet, but I'm learning! I've got an older sister at home to help me too."

Taking a drink of water from his obtained bottle, Sorciere raised an eyebrow curiously. "You have a sister?"

The lynx nodded. ""Oh yeah, two of them: Pencil and Delancy. Pencil being the oldest, and Delancy being the youngest. I'm the middle child."

Sorciere dipped his head in acknowledgement. "Mm, I must ask, is 'Pencil' your sister's legal name?"

Vixen giggled. "No. Her real name's Penelope, but don't let her catch you calling her that. She hates it with a passion."

"And 'Vixen'..." Sorciere began, tilting his head. "Is that name simply a nickname as well?"

She responded by shaking her head and puffing out her chest a bit proudly. "Nope! That's my name: Vixen Isa Larhk. Pretty isn't it?"

"Definitely."

Vixen cocked her head like a small puppy as if suddenly remembering that she knew nothing about this strange feline.. "What about you? What's your name?"

"Sorciere."

"And your last name?"

Sociere blinked, suddenly anxious. "M-my surname? Well, I suppose I don't have one."

Vixen seemed taken aback. "That's odd," then she smiled in a friendly manner. "I suppose it makes you unique though."

At that, Sorciere looked down at the table beneath him. His paws fiddled together as he looked down at his reflection on the glossy surface. His dark eyes sparkled with magical power. He was unique for so many other, more important things than something as trivial as a lack of a surname. "I suppose..." he said slowly.

Vixen paused distractedly, looking at Sorciere's bowl of chowder lustfully. She finally seemed to come to a decision. "Oh, forget it. I can't wait until I get home," and with that, she quickly opened up the styrofoam case and brought out a small bowl with a lid on it. She opened the lid, blowing onto the chowder before taking a sip. Her violet eyes rolled back with dramatic pleasure. "Mmm, totally worth it," she took another sip as Sorciere watched with amusement. Finally, Vixen set the bowl down and gave him a curious look. "So, you just move here or something? I've never seen you around before. You have family in the city?"

Sorciere attempted to put his answers to her rapid fire questions in an orderly fashion. Vixen spoke fast and a lot, but she was kind, and that was all that mattered to him. "I haven't yet, but I'm definitely considering it. I've just been... Sight seeing for the past couple of days," he paused before continuing matter-of-factly. "I have no family."

The lynx's eyes widened and grew watery. She clasped her hands to her face and covered her mouth with a gasp. Her tufted ears lowered with sympathy. "Oh, you poor thing! What happened to them?"

Sorciere tilted his head with confusion. He was not used to this sympathy. He had never really thought of his mother's death as saddening to him. It had been more of an inconvenience if anything. She had always been quite the adrenaline junkie, doing anything to get a rush which had ultimately led to her demise, leaving her son alone at a very young age. Sure he missed her hugs, and her wild stories, but it had never occurred to him as being sad before. His heart felt heavy. "My mother passed away when I was young."

Tears threatened to spill down Vixen's cheeks, and her voice choked up a bit as she next spoke. Sorciere deducted that she was a highly emotional person. "That is so sad!"

Sorciere hesitated, rubbing his chest at this strange new feeling in his chest, He didn't like it one bit. "I... Suppose it is..."

Vixen leaned over the table, clasping Sorciere's hands in hers gently. Sorciere flinched at the sudden contact, but didn't reel back. In fact, he almost yearned for more. "Do you... Do you remember your mother at all?"

Swallowing hard, Sorciere nodded.

"Oh, could you please tell me about her?"

Sorciere's eyes snapped shut as he tried to bring an image to his mind. He didn't have to wait long as he could almost picture her as clearly as if he had just seen her. "Well, she had white fur with spots of orange, brown, and black. Her eyes were as yellow as the sun, and she was always smiling."

Vixen sighed almost dreamily. "She sounds beautiful."

Now Sorciere was the one who was choked up. "She was."

Vixen looked at Sorciere like he was a child. "Go on, what was she like? Was she nice?"

Sorciere nodded. "Extremely. She was very intelligent, she loved to have fun and to help people. She had no fear and was always getting into the most crazy situations. She loved to tell me stories and legends about this city."

The lynx's pretty purple eyes sparkled. "Will you tell me them? I love stories?"

The yellow mage smiled shyly, dipping his head. "I suppose I could tell you one. There was this one about this violet cat named, Ophelia. They were a mage who specialized in dimension hopping and time travel..." Sorciere went on and told the legend to Vixen, reciting it as if he were a teacher and class was in session. He could almost emanate his mother into his voice, telling it like she had.

Vixen looked on the entire time with an open mouth and wide, glittering eyes. She was completely entranced in the story. She was so interested, in fact, that she seemed to have forgotten her cherished chowder that was slowly cooling underneath her.

As Sorciere reached the ending of the tale, he spotted the fluffy, white wolf from before in a heavy coat and shawl. She was carrying a large crock pot full of chowder in the crook of her arm, and she seemed to be walking towards a door in the back of the church. Vixen caught a glimpse of her and let go of Sorciere's hands, cupping her mouth and calling out, "Hey, Pinky! You should stay and talk with us! This guy is such a sweetheart, and he's a great storyteller."

The wolf smiled kindly at the offer, walking over with the crock pot against her chest. She went to sit, huffing as she hoisted the crock pot out.

Sorciere suddenly felt strangely compelled to help this woman. 'Here, let me get this for you," he said, grabbing hold of the crock pot and holding it easily. "There, now you can take a seat."

The woman blinked gratefully, taking a seat slowly. "Thank you, dear. You can go ahead and set it on the table if it's not too much trouble."

Shaking his head, he placed the crock pot down carefully. "Not at all."

At this, the wolf smiled. She looked older than Vixen by a landslide, but she had aged gracefully. She looked like a kindly, old grandmother. Her eyes were tied, but not to the extent that Reuben's were. Her eyes simply looked like she had seen many years, both good and bad. They still held a slight glimmer to them. "I never caught your name, young one. Would you care to tell me?"

Sorciere blinked, taken off guard. Vixen cut in for him. "His name is Sorciere, and he's thinking about moving into town here. He has no family though! Isn't that just the saddest thing?"

"Oh, that is sad. I'm very sorry, dear," the white wolf's blue eyes darkened, and she reached out to pat Sorciere's hand empathetically.

The yellow mage looked at the two ladies and realized that these people, though only just meeting him today, genuinely cared about him. He grew emotional, thinking that it would be a bad move on his part if he didn't choose these sweet girls as well. "Th-thank you," he managed. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, he realized that his table was the only one that was occupied anymore. Everyone else seemed to have left or gone their separate ways. This cued Sorciere in that he had been distracted for too long.

These two will definitely be going to the dream plane, Sorciere decided, standing abruptly and giving the two ladies an apologetic look. "Well, it's been a pleasure speaking to you both, but I'm afraid I must go."

Vixen's ears lowered, and she pouted slightly, but the other woman nodded in understanding. It was at this point that Sorciere realized that he still did not know her name.

"Uh, but before I go, would you mind telling me your name? I'd like to speak with you two again sometime in the future."

The white wolf smiled leisurely. "That'd be Pink Stone. I hope we'll have the time to chat again sometime soon."

Sorciere nodded in acknowledgement, grabbing his water bottle before looking down at his lunch tray.

Pink Stone waved her paw dismissively. "Don't you worry about it; we'll take care of it for you." Her white and pink splattered tail thumped happily on the chair beneath her.

"Take care of yourself!" Vixen put in tentatively. She sounded like an overly worried mother allowing her child off into the big world for the first time. Her worried tone touched Sorciere's heart. She was thinking about his well-being.

At this, Sorciere did something he usually wouldn't have done. He reached out and clasped Vixen's shoulder with his hand, squeezing gently. "I will, I promise you. Goodbye!" With that, he jogged over to the door, waved and stepped out. As he left the church, he began to walk towards the school that sat in the distance.

Walking along, Sorciere looked at the concrete beneath his feet. I never knew that two mere acquaintances could make me feel so much. Perhaps having power over choosing my eternal company isn't such a bad thing after all...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~☆

Sorciere looked up at the school building in front of him. It seemed that school had gotten out an hour or two ago as there was virtually no one outside the school itself, and not many vehicles were parked in the usually crowded parking lot. He walked up to the door and noticed that it was locked.

A scrap of paper that was taped crudely to the door fluttered in the slight breeze. Sorciere placed a paw on it to flatten it to the door and read the contents. The words on the paper instructed to look into the camera to the left and push the button to be given access into school grounds. Sorciere did as he was told, walking up to a strange, black box on the brick wall to his left. He peered into the lens curiously before spotting the button he was meant to push. He pressed it curiously, causing a beep to erupt from it. Sorciere was a bit startled until the doors made a soft clicking noise. He walked over to the door, eyeing that curious button the whole white, before pressing into the building.

The interior of the school was just as empty as the outside. Not a single familiar face to be found. Sorciere seemed to be alone. Perhaps this had proven to be a bad idea...

Sorciere padded down the hallway, taking in the sights of the empty, locked classrooms and decorated lockers along the walls. He had made it a fair way down a hall when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

A pretty and plump big cat stood to his side. She was primarily tan with marbled markings of burgundy and white. She had soft, violet eyes that shone with intelligence. She was donned in a dark grey top and a light purple skirt. A purple scarf hung around her neck to complete her outfit, and a purple ring set on a finger of her right hand."Um, sir, school is out for the day... Did you sign into the office?"

The yellow mage could tell that this woman was obviously very intimidated by him though she was much bigger and taller than he was. She looked strong, and her claws were sharp, but she was cowardly; Sorciere could feel it in her aura. He tried to appear as unthreatening as he possible could. "I had no idea I was suppose to; I apologize. Would you like me to go do that now?"

The big cat shook her head. "Well, I suppose it's fine now that I know you're here. What are you looking for? C-can I help you?"

Sorciere paused. Why was he here? He couldn't just tell this woman that he had come here to look for another young candidate for Reuben's company in the dream plane. He didn't want the child to be completely outnumbered by adults. What was he supposed to say?

Nearly ruining his composure, the yellow mage came up with an idea on the spot. "I'm here to check on my niece's grades. I've heard tell that they've been slipping recently, and I am simply here to see for myself."

"Your... Niece? Who would that be?" The big cat looked confused.

Sorciere's dark eyes widened. I need to think of a name! His eyes flickered about nervously before he spotted a poster on the wall behind his interrogator. It preached anti-bullying, giving him an idea. "I'd rather not say her name out loud for fear of a fellow classmate overhearing."

Now the woman seemed conflicted as if deciding whether or not she should believe him. "But, sir, all of the students have gone--"

"I just don't want to take that chance."

She hesitated for a long while before finally caving. "Okay... I'll take you to my room."

Sorciere dipped his head thankfully, hiding the smirk on his face. He knew he still had it in him. People were just too easy to manipulate. "Thank you very much."

With that, the two started down the rest of the hallway. Sorciere found that the big cat was correct. There was almost no signs of life besides himself and his current companion and not a student to be seen.

Photos, drawings, claims to different clubs, and decals covered the locker exteriors no matter where they looked. Wrestling, basketball, art, forensics, they had it all. There was anything to pretty, pink ponies and glitter to stars and moons covering every inch of free space. The students here seemed to be very expressive of their interests with only a few bare lockers in sight.

"So..." the big cat began awkwardly, clearing her throat. "I'm Mimi Strauss. I'm the middle and high school science teacher. What's your name?"

"My name is..." Sorciere paused. He'd been introducing himself as, well, himself all day long, but something seemed to tell him that informing a teacher about his true identity could end badly. This woman, thought cowardly, was probably highly intelligent, and she'd most likely recognize him as soon as the words left his mouth. "My name is David. It's a pleasure to meet you," his eyes darted around. He might have covered his identity for now, but he needed to figure out the name of the girl he was looking for: that cheetah girl with the untrusting eyes and messy fur. He needed to distract Mimi for as long as he could. "Do you enjoy teaching science?"

Mimi nodded. "I'd say so, yes. I'd definitely never take another job over this one... Well, unless being a mechanic in town got you good pay. I'm sort of handy around machinery."

Sorciere also nodded, his gaze wandering around the halls. He was hardly processing what Mimi was saying. "Aha... Do you have a particular favorite topic to teach?"

Mimi seemed to be warming up to Sorciere's presence at this point. He had that effect on people; he just seemed so unthreatening and curious, much like a harmless child. It helped that the people of Juniper were almost entirely starved from conversations and venting, causing them to open up more to someone who could feign interest. Luckily, this was one of Sorciere's many talents.

The big cat's shoulders were more relaxed now, talking about her subject rather than interrogating a newcomer. "Oh, I'd say the entire physics unit is a favorite of mine simply because it comes easily to me. My students tend to... Well... Hate it. I can't blame them all too much though, I suppose. It is bothersome to lean all of the formulas and be able to execute them well. Extra credit is a big hit in my classroom."

"Mm, I see. Do any of your children attend this school? I imagine it must be comforting to have a mother as a teacher. You are a mother, are you not?"

Mimi dipped her head, giving Soricere sort of a sideways glance. "Yes, I am... I have one amazing son, but he hasn't gotten to my grade level yet," her minimal recurring suspicion was replaced with immense pride. "He's very smart for his age though. He excels with math, which is all I could ask for. My wife and I are very proud of him."

Sorciere took in this information, taking not that Mimi had said 'wife' and not husband. He had no problems with same sex relationships himself, but he was quite surprised to hear how common they were nowadays. Back when he was young, it was unheard of. As far as he was concerned though, love and let love. Mortal relations did not trouble him.

"I'm sure he'll grow to do great things," Sorciere enthused, knowing that it was exactly what Mimi wanted to hear. Her son was her pride and joy.

Smiling warmly, Mimi responded, "Thank you. We're here by the way. My room is right there. Let me just grab my key..."

Before the mage could work himself into a tizzy, a shimmer from a laminated piece of paper on the floor not too far from him caught his eye. He sensed that it could be helpful and turned to see how Mimi was doing with the key. She had brought a lanyard to her paws and was fiddling with a million jingly keychains and keys alike carefully, looking for one specific key. She squinted and mumbled to herself as she attempted to find it.

Great, she's distracted; here's my chance, Sorciere thought to himself. He raced over to the piece of paper on light feet, grabbing it in his hand and giving it a glance over. It was a class photo for the junior class of Juniper's high school. Scanning it rapidly, he prayed that he could spot the cheetah girl. His shoulders sagged with relief. Top row, alphabetically in order, was Lainey Bohlen.

Even in her professional school photograph, Lainey looked angsty and ready to fight. In this photograph, her trademark peace sign-shaped marking (Sorciere concluded it must be some sort of do-it-yourself tattoo) was missing, so it must have a been a recent development.

"David, are you coming?"

Sorciere jumped with a start as he realized she was calling him, and he turned on his heels to see Mimi standing in the door to her room looking irritated.

"Oh, don't bother with the mess. The juniors are far too wild this year, always making messes. I'll make sure they clean it later. Come on in."

The yellow mage nodded, dropping the photo compilation to the ground and trotting over. "Coming!" He walked into the classroom and looked around.

Diagrams of a typical anthro body, posters of sea life and their habitats, and chemistry tubes and vials were covering the room. The walls were a crisp, clean white and the room smelled strongly of lysol.

"What do you think?" Mimi asked jokingly. "Would you go to school here?"

Sorciere nodded. "Of course."

Mimi chuckled. "Sure, sure. Alright, why don't we both take a seat?" She sat behind her desk, and Sorciere followed suit, choosing a seat right in front of her desk. He crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair before noticing that Mimi was also sitting cross-legged daintily due to her wearing a skirt. She looked more poised though, and Sorciere suddenly felt self conscious.

Correcting his posture, Sorciere sent Mimi an apologetic look. He fidgeted slightly in anticipation, hoping that finding out about Lainey would be quick and painless. Mimi kept her patient gaze on him, not bothered in the slightest.

"Alright, now that we're in a more private room, who would your niece be? Middle of high school?"

Sorciere cooled his composure with a deep breath. He had to play this off properly. "High school. Her name is Lainey Bohlen."

Mimi cocked an eyebrow at this. "Lainey Bohlen? That's strange."

Panic began to rise in Sorciere's chest, and he swallowed nervously. "Why would that be strange?"

"Well, it's just that I didn't think Lainey had an uncle. At least, it didn't seem like it. You're also... Well, you look to be some sort of a Norwegian Forest cat, and she's a cheetah... Mixed breed families aren't unusual anymore, but I never thought that her family was that varied..."

Sorciere nodded slowly, trying to keep a calm composure. "We tend to get that a lot; don't worry too much about it."

Mimi nodded. "I'm sure. Sorry if I came off as blunt or rude. I promise I meant nothing by it."

Smiling as if to say 'it's all good,' Sorciere spoke again. "No, no, you meant no harm."

Sorciere relaxed as Mimi nodded. Perhaps this would be easier than he had anticipated. As long as he kept making up excuses and winging it, things would be just fine.

The science teacher pulled out a fairly stuffed pull out drawer and began to sift thought her files. "Lainey, Lainey, Lainey..." she murmured. "Aha! There she is," she held out Lainey's file triumphantly. "Alright, now let's see here..." she paused, reading to herself inaudibly before giving Sorciere a friendly smile. "Are you kidding me, David? This right here is a star student...! In my class at least. I could check her midterm grades for you as well, but it seems that you have nothing to worry about."

Sorciere feigned relief. "Oh, that's wonderful! I'm very proud of her."

Mimi rolled her chair over to a computer desk and logged on, humming to herself as she waited for it to load. While she did this, Sorciere took the file in front of him and looked through it.

Lainey's handwriting was loopy and elegant, very easy on the eyes. Her grades were incredibly high as well. Her projects were exemplary, and her work was shown in nice and neat sections of her papers.

Though Sorciere was not truly her uncle, and it was all a facade, he felt a stab of pride. What a smart girl.

It seemed that Mimi's computer was finally working. She read off the rest of Lainey's grades which were just as outstanding, also stating that Lainey was currently valedictorian. "There's absolutely no cause to worry," she stated confidently, smoothing her dress and turning back to Sorciere.

Sorciere smiled and nodded, standing up. This meet had went swimmingly, and his self confidence (though it had been lacking earlier) was at an all time high. "Well, that is all I needed. Thank you very much, Mimi. It is much appreciated."

Mimi grinned, flashing her large, pearly whites. "Of course! Say hi to Minnie for me!"

This was when Sorciere froze. "Err, Minnie...?"

The big cat's ears flattened to her skull. Her tail stopped flicking. Her aura radiated suspicion. "Yes, Minnie..."

Sorciere's plan was beginning to fall to pieces. He knew relatively nothing about Lainey's family, yet here he was pretending to be her uncle. For once in his life, he had been almost completely unprepared. "Um, sorry, I'm having trouble remembering. Is that Lainey's sister? Our family is so extended that it makes it hard to put two and two together sometimes-"

"Lainey has no sister. Minnie is her aunt," Mimi spoke in a brittle voice.

The yellow mage slapped a palm to his face, realizing that he had gone and messed up. "Oh, yes. You'll have to forgive me for being so scatterbrained. I've just moved in from another town, and I'm still getting used to it. If you'll just tell me where I can find Lainey, I'll drop in and say hi to her and congratulate her-"

Mimi abruptly stood up from her desk, Lainey's files falling to the ground and scattering across the ground. She looked terrified. Her nostrils flared, and her pupils were dilated. "Who are you, and what do you want with my student?!"

Sorciere flinched. His cover was blown. There was only one thing to do now, but he'd been so very, very reluctant to do so. He hadn't wanted to do this, but it was his only hope of getting his chosen ones. Mimi was such a nice woman too...

"I'm so very sorry, Mimi," His eyes glowed while Mimi's suddenly went hazy. "Tell me where Lainey is," he commanded, his voice deep with power and authority. It sounded so unlike his regular charismatic tone, and he flinched.

"Trusty Falls... She volunteers there on weekdays..." Mimi slurred, swaying on her heels uneasily. She was no longer in control of her tall, bulky frame.

"Trusty Falls..." Sorciere recited the name to himself quietly. "Alright, perfect," he chanted a quick incantation for memory alteration to make Mimi believe that this was all just a fever dream. She'd want to go home immediately and recover without ever realizing that she'd ever met Sorciere in reality. To finalize the spell, Sorciere snapped his fingers, and Mimi's eyes closed. She fell back and slumped into her chair, snoring softly. Her arms hung loosely on the edges of her seat.

Mimi looked so helpless; her head was lolled, her lips were slightly parted, and she was in a very deep slumber. She looked so much smaller now and younger too, not anything like the mature big cat he'd seen earlier.

He'd made her like his... And he regretted it.

Sorciere gulped guiltily. Mimi was uninjured and would rise within the hour feeling only grogginess. So, why did he feel so awful? He'd used this spell countless times when practicing spells near the library and with the nature near the cave he lived in. He'd never felt any remorse when casting it. Why were his emotions so hard to control all of a sudden?

Resting a hand on Mimi's limp paw, he looked at her sadly. "Thank you, Mimi." He removed his hand and looked around to be sure that he had not been spotted somehow. Seeing no one, he stood up, took a deep breath to collect his bearings, and hurried out of the school. He barged past the door and out onto the sidewalk. As he ran down the concrete path, he casted a glance back at the schoolyard.

A frustrated gust of air escaped his lips. His feelings had been doing nothing back making things complicated lately. He'd always been able to handle them quite well despite the odds.

Why now of all times were they acting so strange and unpredictable?

Sadness, anger, pride, love... These were so foreign to him that it was incomprehensible to even imagine him feeling them in the first place. Yet, here he was, running from a feeling of guilt, another new emotion.

He shouldn't care. He couldn't care... Yet somehow, he was beginning to.

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

The yellow mage walked into Trusty Falls, a pleasant little nursing home near the edge of town with a sun dappled roof and two large oak trees in the front yard. Two cars were parked outside in the freshly paved parking lot, one of them quite askew as if the person who had parked it in the first place was near blind. The sun was beginning to dip in the sky, turning it a crimson red. It was getting late, and Sorciere needed to hurry.

"Oh! Hello there!"

A sunset-gradient cat at the front desk. Her cheeks were covered in sugary crumbs, and she'd clearly been indulging in some donuts. She smiled anyways despite her embarrassment of being caught off guard. "Hello, sir! I'm Eventide. Welcome to Trusty Falls. Who are you here to see today?" Her whisking plume of a tail glided to and fro.

Sorciere cleared his throat, still trying to rid of the nagging feeling of guilt at his heart and put on his usual charismatic facade. "I'm here to see Lainey Bohlen," he stated. "Is she here?"

Eventide blinked. "Oh, you're not here to see a resident? Alrighty, then. Well, I think Lainey is in talking to Dorisa right now, but I'll go get her. I'm sure she won't mind seeing you," she hesitated as if this was not the entire truth. Smiling sheepishly, she continued. "Too much..." She then scurried off into the clean hallway to her right, checking all of the rooms she passed by as she went along.

This particular feline held a very responsible flair to her, and though she was young, perhaps freshly graduated, she seemed to be in charge here.

Sorciere whistled awkwardly, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he waited for Eventide to return with his chosen one. He allowed his eyes to wander, taking in the calm scenery around him.

There was a large tropical fish tank in an open room away from the desk as well as a small aviary display with a few bright birds inside. A TV was turned on in said room, but the sound was not audible. An elderly, snoozing calico cat in a wheelchair was seated in front of the TV with a small side desk to her side. A glass of what looked to be lemonade was set upon a doily on the surface. A small, box-like object was playing what sounded to be very old music quietly, and the sound drifted through the entirety of Trusty Falls open area. The air inside was very fresh and clean.

Eventually, Eventide poked her head around the door with Lainey followed not very far behind her. Lainey's ice blue eyes were narrowed grumpily, and she mumbled to herself irritably. Her tail lashed to and fro. As the two girls approached, Eventide smiled happily all the while, Lainey's eyes widened with recognition. She froze for a nanosecond before Eventide noticed her hesitance. The sunset-colored cat gave her a concerned look, but Lainey simply shook her head and kept walking so as not to worry Eventide. Immediately, the other cat fell back into her usual cheeriness.

"Here she is, sir," Eventide stated as if it weren't already obvious that there was a new guest in the room. She looked at the two other felines expectantly, not realizing the tension that crackled through the air dangerously. "I'll leave you two alone for a minute,' she chirped. With that, she walked towards the room with the TV and stood behind the dozing calico, rubbing her shoulders gently.

Lainey watched her depart helplessly before suddenly turning on Sorciere as soon as Eventide was out of earshot. She turned a smoldering glare to Sorciere and snarled, "Why are you here?"

Sorciere was taken aback by the cheetah's hostility. As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything to her since the day he first saw her. Why was she being so aggressive? "I'm here to talk."

Lainey's lip curled back. "About?"

"Well, anything, I suppose. I saw you walking down the sidewalk just the other day, and you looked like you knew your way around, so I was figuring that you could maybe help me out. You see, I'm trying to movie into the city, but I am not very well educated about the city or its inhabitants all that greatly. I was hoping we could perhaps get to know each other?" Sorciere used the lie he'd been using all day, the words falling a lot less easily from his tongue than they had the first time. Playing a part was something he had once thought he could do, but after the mess of a meet with Mimi, he was beginning to doubt his ability to lie.

The teenager's black ears flattened, and, to Sorciere's dismay, she was still emanating intense feelings that meant that she was on edge. The words had flowed silkily from Sorciere's mouth, but his charm seemed to have no effect on her whatsoever.

"Oh, I know you saw me on the sidewalk the other day. You followed me for like five blocks, you creep! And I don't trust you, not one bit. I was warned to keep my eyes out for you. Seems like you're not just a problem for me," Lainey spat venomously.

The ancient calico in the other room yawned loudly, shifting in her wheelchair, but neither she nor Eventide seemed to notice the conflict that was currently stirring.

Sorciere frowned. Who could have been warning people about me? I haven't wronged anyone. Perhaps that blue cat that Kei fought for me? he worried to himself. "Lainey, I assure you that I mean no harm-"

"Do you? Do you really? Can you really say that you're not out to hurt me or anyone else in this city? How did you know my name? How about that for an icebreaker?" Lainey took a threatening step forward. Though she was small, her eyes burned like the embers of a fire, and her teeth glinted dangerously.

A sigh escaped Sorciere's lips. Today was proving to be especially emotionally exhausting. How was he supposed to save this girl if she wouldn't even hear him out? "Please listen, Lainey, I might have asked around about you, but I promise that I am not here to attack you. I only know what I've been told about you, and what I know is that you are a highly intelligent young girl named, Lainey. I promise that I know nothing else. I would like to though," he tried to smile amiably, but the show of false emotion only came out looking pathetic.

Lainey gave Sorciere a searching look. "You promise you're not going to hurt me...?" Her voice cracked sharply, and Sorciere sensed a hidden turmoil from the past. This girl had obviously been through a lot and had obtained trust issues because of it. He could only guess the horrors she had been through. Now he had a reason for her to be suspicious and untrusting of him. He could no longer blame her for being afraid.

Sorciere nodded his head quickly. "Of course! I have no intent of hurting anyone if possible. I just want to get to know you better and learn more about this wonderful city," he stated.

That wasn't entirely the truth. He did want to get to know Lainey better, but he'd been learning about the city all day. What more could there be to learn?

The girl hesitated again before sighing deeply. She seemed to have come to a conclusion. "Alright, fine. I'll give you a chance. What do you want to know?"

Brightening up, Sorciere mentally cheered. She'd finally caved. He knew that she was good hearted and level headed in the end. She'd see reasoning once she saw how truly lucky she was. She was chosen.

Better yet, his choices were warming up to him, and within days, they'd trust him enough for him to do anything. He'd finally show them the dream plane and reveal his true identity. They'd love him all the same and thank him any minute they could for saving their precious, mortal lives.

This was all in the future though. For now, it was a time for bonding and trust-building. It would be tedious, and God would it ever be bothersome, but Sorciere knew that he was doing the right thing. In the end, they'd all think so too.

He was in control of his emotions. He would not let these feelings sway him any more.

Sorciere smiled and tilted his head curiously, his mother's mage hat sliding down his ears. "Well, I heard that the countryside is gorgeous this time of year..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~☆


	10. ★

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jezzy spends an awkward night with some... 'friends.'

The interior of Beronico's Italian Cuisine was hazily lit up in the quickly darkening night. Red, green and white-checkered tablecloths donned each and every table where families and couples alike sat and devoured their late dinners. Flickering candles sat long the counter tops near the kitchen, and the symphony of Italian folk music drifted through the air, setting a very warm and comforting atmosphere.

There were only a few empty chairs and booths as far as the eye could see as Beronico's was almost as popular in town as Kitty O'Shea's multicultural eatery. It was certainly a good thing that Jezzy was not here to stick around for there was hardly anywhere for him to sit. The main reason behind this was the unquestionable fact that no one ever came to Beronico's alone.

Going to Beronico's without some friends, your family, or a significant other was virtually admitting that one had nobody that cared about them in their life. It was utterly humiliating, and people would pick up on the lack of companions almost as soon as you stepped into the restaurant.

It seemed that Jezzy was no exception to this unspoken rule. Ever since he had politely taken his place in line, it felt as if everyone's gazes were on him. A fair mixture of pity and disgust came from these gazes, causing Jezzy to wish he were nothing but a fly on the wall. He pouted childishly and awaited for his turn to order.

A light blue fox was resting his cheek on the palm of his hand as he watched a white and green fox across the table peer at him from behind a menu. The two were blushing, and their tails were coiled together underneath the table.

An orange feline with even darker orange stripes and white patches of fur was holding hands with a brown cat who stood at his side. They were wearing a fox hat which kept their ears pinned to the sides of their head. Off to the side of them, it seemed that a relative of the orange cat was attempting to be as far away from the others as possible. He was clenching and unclenching his fist, and his tail whipped about angrily as his companions doted on each other.

A family consisting of a small orange tiger, a much taller white tiger, another more plump and elderly white tiger, and a tiny Russian Blue-tiger hybrid were seated at the most chaotic of the tables. The orange tiger was hissing out insults to the youngest of the family while the smaller cat cowered against her guardian's side. The elderly child was chiding the orange tiger, but to no avail while the other white tiger looked down and tried to stay out of the drama.

That wasn't even half of the residents inside of Beronico's and whenever a few would finish up their meals and leave, another family or couple would replace them. There was an endless flood of hungry people at this time of night apparently, and it seemed there would never be a quiet moment inside of the restaurant.

As time lulled on and on without so much as a budge in the line, Jezzy began to grow self-conscious. He hastily pulled out his phone from his sweater pocket and opened up the note-taking app he had retained from his high school days. He'd never used the app for taking notes as it was meant for and instead wrote down trivial stuff such as how to properly cook ramen noodles and exactly how many times he'd seen this one notorious couple making out in the halls.

None of this was helpful to Jezzy at this point in time, but he simply pulled up another note and began to type nonsense in hopes that the people around him would believe that he was having a great conversation with someone via text. Every so often, he'd change his expression slightly to make it that much more believable. Unfortunately, he'd never been a good actor, and he could still feel the entirety of the restaurants burning looks on him. This was no good. He had to take it up a notch.

Tapping out of the notes app, Jezzy opened up the setting tab on his phone. He scrolled down until he found his minuscule list of ringtones. He hesitated very briefly as to if this would truly be worth it before slamming his thumb down on the first ringtone and allowing it to play out loud. The noise was much louder than he had intended, causing him to flinch and nearly drop his phone to the floor. He caught it between his fingers just before it fell to the floor and clumsily pressed another button on the phone and brought it to his ear.

"Oh, h-hey, babe! Y-yeah, I'm picking up the pizza right now. Funny you should ask that, ha ha ha..."

Jezzy continued speaking to his fake significant other, chuckling awkwardly every now and again. This seemed to fool a few of the restaurant-goers who returned to their meals and ignored Jezzy once again, but some were not as easily convinced. Jezzy kept up his act until a wiry-furred feline carrying a notepad passed him by.

The cat held a notepad in his paws, and he was wearing a Beronico's uniform. The name tag on his chest read 'Josh.' He was somewhat jittery and twitched noticeably. It seemed that he had some sort of an issue with being in such a crowded building, but there was nothing to be done other than the task at hand. He made his way over to a table where another family was sitting.

A brown corgi that Jezzy recognized as Delancy Larhk, a small girl who he used to babysit back in high school, was one of the family members. Delancy had been a decent enough child, and she and Jezzy had become some sort of friends with time. The only bad thing about her was if she wasn't permitted to use up her boundless energy, she could be a royal terror.

Currently, Delancy was sitting down, but her whole body could not seem to keep still as she wriggled and squirmed in her seat. She was coloring violently with three differently-colored crayons in one hand. Her tongue was sticking out, and her expression was one of pure concentration.

The oldest at the table was a dark blue-furred cat, Pencil Larhk, who was Delancy's oldest sister. One of her palms was clasped to her face while the other one clutched at her forehead as if she had an excruciating headache. Her lips were pulled downwards in a tight frown.

The only seemingly functional member of the family at the table, who was talking politely with the waiter, was the middle child, Vixen Larhk.

Jezzy's heart stopped beating in his chest for a moment, and his fake phone conversation cut off abruptly as his eyes landed on Vixen. He could feel sweat beginning to form on his forehead, and his tail was twitching crazily. Watching as the pretty lynx gave the waiter the family's orders, he chewed on his bottom lip.

Why is she here? She's never here. What if she sees me? Is she still mad? Oh God, oh God, oh God, what do I do? Jezzy's thought were a roiling storm of turmoil. Not one of them was comforting and all of them were giving him some reason to leave Beronico's immediately. He was frozen though, his legs paralyzed in the place where he stood.

Jezzy began speaking into his phone once more, this time his voice raising higher and higher until he was almost yelling. More and more people began looking at him but he couldn't stop. He kept allowing the words to flood from his mouth until finally, they stopped altogether as Vixen's eyes landed on him.

The two-toned cat felt all of the color drain from his face as Vixen blinked slowly. For a moment, Jezzy wondered if she had already forgotten about him which would be quite the relief. With a few more seconds though, a look of recognition passed over her face. She slowly raised up a paw to wave to him.

Before she could even begin to initiate the wave, Jezzy's gaze darted down to the floor. He acted as if he had never seen Vixen in the first place, taking a few quick steps forwards as the line in front of him had already placed their orders and sat down without him knowing. He stood expectantly, waiting for the bunny at the cash register to take his order.

The girl behind the register had tan fur and shoulder length teal hair. Her floppy ears had similarly teal markings on it, and her half-lidded eyes were a dull yellow in contrast to the rest of her colors. The name on her uniform read 'Kristen.'

After a short while of Jezzy waiting anxiously for her to speak to him, Kristen eventually coughed.

"Are you done with your phone call, sir?" the bunny asked, her voice just as monotonous as the rest of her.

Jezzy blinked, wondering what in the world that Kristen could possibly mean before realizing that his phone was still held up to his ear. He forced an obviously fake laugh. "Oh, ha ha ha, sorry, babe! I guess I left you on the line! Sorry, I just can't seem to get enough of you! I'll see you tonight though. Love you! No, I love you more! Goodbye!" He quickly tapped the screen and smiled awkwardly at Kristen.

Kristen looked completely unamused.

"Sorry about that! My girlfriend and I call each other so much that we sometimes forget to hang up, ha ha!"

One of Kristen's perfectly-shaped eyebrows raised skeptically. "Uh huh... and do you normally talk to her on the setting app?"

Jezzy blinked, his face reddening. He quickly shoved his phone back into his sweater pocket where Kristen could no longer see it. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about..."

Kristen's golden eyes rolled. "Whatever. Anyways, welcome to Beronico's; home of the most delizioso Italian cuisine in Juniper. Would you like to order for here or to go?" Not a hint of emotion was noticeable in Kristen's repetitive spiel. She'd probably recited the same words for hours upon hours without stopping. No wonder she seemed to be so exhausted with life.

Still feeling embarrassed from being caught in his act, Jezzy swallowed his spit. "U-u, to go, p-please."

A notepad was placed onto the desk and a pencil was removed from behind Kristen's ear. "Ah ha, and what would you like to order?"

Jezzy tapped his nails on the marble desktop. "A medium pizza with mushrooms and sausage on it, please."

"Each topping is an additional dollar."

A sigh escaped Jezzy's lips. "Just make that a medium cheese pizza then." He fished out his paycheck money and handed it to Kristen reluctantly. She snatched the money and inspected it as if seeing if it were fake. When she deemed it real, she wrote down Jezzy's order and ripped it off of her notepad. She clipped it onto a hanger behind her near the kitchen area, and a tan canine with one red eye and one blue eye emerged to take the order in. He gave Jezzy a strange look before returning to the kitchen.

As Jezzy continued to tap on the desktop nervously, Kristen grabbed his wrist. He looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Please wait off to the side, sir. And stop tapping on my desk."

Jezzy swallowed thickly and nodded, skittering over to the side and leaning up against the wall with a gusty exhale. He looked over to where the other people in the restaurant were sitting once more and noticed that Vixen's family finally had their food.

Delancy was excitedly shoving breadsticks into her mouth and talking all the while. Great globs of half-chewed mush shot from her and onto the tabletop. Pencil was glaring daggers at her little sister from across the table, stabbing her fork into the lasagna noodles on her plate violently.

Vixen was not eating. She was twirling her spaghetti noodles around her fork absent-mindedly as she rested her cheek on her hand. She looked almost wistful and lost in thought. Somehow, it was as if she could feel Jezzy's eyes locked on her though, and she turned towards him. Before she could make eye contact, Jezzy whipped his head to the side and looked to the kitchen, biting his nails.

The lynx's burning gaze bore through the trembling teenager, but he simply could not find the strength to look back at her.

After what seemed like forever, the tan canine from before stepped out of the kitchen with a delicious smelling cardboard box in hand. Before he could ever read the order aloud, Jezzy snatched it from his hands. "Thank you!" he said quickly, so as not to be too rude. "Have a good night."

With that, Jezzy shot out of the restaurant and away from Vixen's intense violet eyes. As he sped down the street, he willed his stomach to take over his conflicted thoughts.

Stop thinking about her, he thought to himself. If she wanted to talk to you, she would have. Just get home and eat before your stomach collapses. Can a stomach even collapse in the first place? I don't know, but I don't want to take the chance.

The graduate's orange paws tapped against the sidewalk as quickly as they could.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Wiping pizza sauce away from his chin with a napkin, Jezzy's ear twitched as the sound of faint, muffled voices came from outside. He stood up from his table, abandoning his supper and walking over to the nearest window.

Who in the hell is out in these parts, especially at this time of night?

Jezzy's nearest neighbors were about a mile or two away, and they never came down his way. Who else could possibly be out there?

Slow movement out past the road caught Jezzy's eye, and he squinted to see two bright yellow pelts in the night. One of them was spotted haphazardly and had a dark hoodie on their small frame while the other was much taller and walked with an insane amount of confidence. They were both familiar and with a little bit of thinking, Jezzy realized that it was none other than Lainey Bohlen and the infamous Sorciere.

Feeling his heart drop down to his feet, Jezzy propelled himself towards the door. Bursting out into the night, he cupped his hand over his mouth and raced towards the two felines. "H-hey, you leave her alone!" He stumbled over his own paws and tripped, making quite the ungraceful act out of his attempted heroism. Despite all of this, when he caught up to them and put himself between Lainey and Sorciere, the small cheetah's cheeks grew flushed.

"What the hell are you planning on doing to her?! I'll call the cops right this second if you can't give me a good answer now!" Jezzy snarled, the fur on his neck rising. Though he wasn't particularly intimidating, the sudden burst of protectiveness came as a surprise to both of the other felines.

Sorciere was at a loss for words for a moment, but before he could even attempt to speak up, Lainey cut in for him.

"I-I'm fine, don't worry, Jezzy. He was just trying to learn more about the city, and we got a little carried away around the countryside. He hasn't done anything to me, I swear."

Jezzy glared at Sorciere suspiciously, but the cat with the ridiculous witch hat simply nodded.

"Yes, thank you, Lainey. I was not going to do anything to harm her, I promise. It is quite ironic that you showed up at this time though. We were just talking about you."

Lainey's surprised expression turned to one of embarrassed indignation. "I was just saying that you lived down here. It wasn't anything like... you know..."

No attention was paid to the small girl as Jezzy's glare never parted from Sorciere's face. His posture was still incredibly tense as if he was willing to strike out at any time.

Sorciere's tail flickered in amusement. "I have no idea why you're acting so distrustful, Jezzy. We have met before, have we not? In fact, if I recall correctly, you let me inside of your house."

"You tricked me into doing that," Jezzy growled lowly though there was a bit of uncertainty in his voice now. Truth be told, he couldn't remember much about why he had decided to allow Sorciere inside of his abode. Had he really just let him inside with no questions asked?

Sociere tilted his head innocently. "Did I really? I can't seem to recall that. In fact, I remember asking you politely if I could gain permission to come inside of your house, and you allowed me to just like that. There was no trickery involved whatsoever. We simply had some tea and chatted like old friends."

Jezzy was about to argue that Sorciere was not one of his friends and would never be considered as such, but Lainey's icy blue eyes caught his attention as they blinked in bewilderment.

"You did?" the small cheetah asked.

The two-toned cat parted his jaws to explain himself, but before he could so so, Sorciere locked his powerful gaze onto him. Jezzy's body went painfully rigid, and try as he might, he couldn't break away from that intense look.

"You know, come to think of it, I would not mind visiting your house again, if you were up to it, of course. I would not want to force you into anything if you were not okay with it..."

Slowly, Jezzy shook his head from side to side. His multi-colored eyes were unblinking. "No, no, it's fine. You can come over." The words came from his mouth almost robotically.

Sorciere feigned a state of being unsure. "I don't know... I would not want to leave Lainey out here after she so graciously showed me around the lovely countryside today..."

Without hesitation, Jezzy spoke up again. "She can come too."

Lainey's ears flattened, and more blush crept onto her freckled cheeks. "Wha-"

Sorciere grinned brightly, cutting Lainey off with a wave of his paw. "Perfect! Let's get going then! I must say that I did miss your house just the slightest bit. It's so comfortable on the interior."

"Yeah..." Jezzy murmured, leading the way stiff-legged to his house in the near distance.

Lainey hurried on her short, sweatpants-clad legs to catch up with her acquaintance. She looked up at him with concern, but it was as if she wasn't there at all to Jezzy. He didn't seem to notice her at his side. "Has he really been in your house before?" Lainey asked, sending Sorciere an anxious look.

The other honey-colored feline seemed completely unbothered, walking blissfully behind the two. His eyes never left Jezzy's back.

"Yes, he has," Jezzy replied monotonously.

Lainey frowned, her tail lashing in annoyance. "Why didn't you tell me that? It would have been nice to know."

"Wasn't important," Jezzy shrugged. He stopped at his door, and the two waited for Sorciere to catch up to them. Once the witch hat-wearing feline stepped regally up the doorstep, Jezzy allowed the wooden door to creak open. Sorciere did not wait for an invitation, walking inside as if he owned the place.

"Thank you, Jezebelle. You truly are such a generous boy." Sorciere purred silkily. As he strode past Jezzy, his bushy plume of a tail tickled the other boy's nose and caused him to sneeze. This seemed to rocket Jezzy back to the present.

Wiping at his nose, Jezzy blinked rapidly as if his eyes were excruciatingly dry. He looked around, completely unnerved. He was clearly at his house again and Lainey and Sorciere were with him, so why could he remember getting here at all? The last thing he knew, he had been arguing with Sorciere...

Lainey looked up at Jezzy with concern, her irritation at him momentarily dispelled. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah, I'm fine." The orange and white feline drew his fingers through his bangs shakily. "You can, uh, go inside if you want. I'll be right in..."

The cheetah stared at Jezzy for just a moment longer as if she didn't completely trust his words. Despite this though, she eventually nodded her head and dipped past him to go inside of his house.

Jezzy took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose and tilted his head back. His head was pounding, but he had no idea why. He hadn't had a migraine in awhile and though this one was not unbearable, it was extremely unpleasant.

With a wince, the graduate decided that he could no longer procrastinate on stepping into his house. He walked inside and closed the door slowly behind him.

Sorciere was already sitting in Jezzy's chair while Lainey peered with interest at the open pizza box that still sat atop of the tabletop. The look in her eyes suggested that she hadn't had the opportunity to eat in awhile, and the pizza did smell pretty delicious...

Jezzy walked over to the two house guests. He gave Sorciere an distrustful frown and turned as Lainey spoke aloud and broke the silence. "Is this whole thing for you?" she asked, somewhat to herself.

Rubbing his hands together self-consciously, Jezzy nodded. "Y-yeah, it was."

Lainey's expression morphed to one of disbelief. "There's no way you can eat all of that by yourself."

Jezzy was tempted to argue that it was only a medium, but he figured that he would be better off not arguing with Lainey who had proven to be quite the force to be reckoned with. Sighing in defeat, he came to a harder decision. "You guys can have some if you want. You're probably right anyways."

The cheetah dropped the lid of the box closed and blinked in surprise. "I didn't mean-" Before she could finish her sentence, she closed her mouth, furrowing her eyebrows and crossing her arms. "Where are the plates?"

To the kitchen cabinets, Jezzy dipped and pulled out two freshly-cleaned glass plates. One of them was chipped in the corner, but Jezzy said nothing, offering that one to Sorciere.

Lainey immediately took her plate from Jezzy's paws, placing a particularly cheesy slice to put on it. Meanwhile, Sorciere went for a crust piece and set it on his plate gingerly. As Lainey struggled to hold her piece in her slender paws, Jezzy shifted his weight awkwardly.

"Do either of you need forks or..."

An incredulous look was shot to Jezzy from Lainey. Her eyes were full of disbelief. "Who uses a fork to eat pizza? We're not eating in the presence of royalty, you know."

Sorciere gave her a strange look at this, but no one else said anything.

Jezzy sighed and pulled out another chair. He flopped down heavily and turned a burning look to Sorciere. Not a bone in his body trusted that cat, but he didn't want to be too obvious about his thoughts. Something about the strange feline unnerved him, and there was a high possibility that if he said the wrong thing, he and Lainey could be in danger. "So, you learning a lot?"

Sorciere chewed deliberately slow, his gaze flitting over to Lainey. The small girl was sending him back a somewhat nervous look as if she worried she wasn't a good enough tour guide. "Of course I am. Lainey is a very intelligent girl. She has informed me of many interesting things about this side of Juniper. She told me that no school buses come out this way, so she and her brother, Charlie had to walk to school every day..."

Jezzy turned his sympathetic eyes to Lainey who was giving Sorciere a somewhat mutinous look.

Walking to school every day; even in the cold, wintry months? That had to be tough for a couple of children. Even so, Lainey turned her gaze to Jezzy and met his eyes challengingly. She was silent, but the look on her face seemed to say 'don't pity me... or else.'

Completely ignoring Lainey's change of mood, Sorciere continued on. "She told me that when autumn falls upon the countryside, the trees around here turn the most beautiful shades of orange, brown, red, and yellow. When the leaves fall, she and Charlie take turns jumping into leaf piles..."

Jezzy blinked. Someone like Lainey having fun just for, well, the fun of it was such a strange though. She was a strong and grumpy teenager, so the thought of her squealing and leaping into leaf piles was nearly foreign. He looked at her curiously, but she was looking down at the table now as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world at this point in time.

"She also told me that she has been simply dying to meet the person who lived in this house ever since she moved in down the street, but she was scared that you wouldn't want to--"

"Whoa! This pizza is really good," Lainey cut in loudly, sending Sorciere a glare. "What kind is it?"

Was she serious?

"Uh... Cheese..."

Lainey blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, right, right. It's just been awhile since I had pizza, that's all."

Now the three felines went awkwardly silent. No sound came from any of them for some time before Jezzy finally caved in and broke the ice.

"So," Jezzy turned his head to face Sorciere head on and gauge his expression. "Have you heard about that kid that went missing?"

Lainey's eyes flashed with understanding about Jezzy's investigative question, and she took the hint to stay quiet. She held her breath, impatiently awaiting Sorciere's response.

He couldn't lie; Jezzy had been expecting Sorciere's expression to darken, his paw to dart to his pants and for the glint of a sharp dagger to emerge into the light. He'd fully expected a dramatic, action-filled chase out of the door and down the street as he exposed Sorciere for the dangerous predator he really was. Maybe Lainey would hug him as she trembled in fear, thinking she could have been next. Jezzy would dial the cops, and all of these yellow cat shenanigans would be over with for good. What he did not expect was the reaction he got.

Sorciere looked genuinely surprised, his usually cool facade rippling on the surface. "A child is missing? Who?"

Some kind of surprised relief washed over Jezzy. Though a small part of him had really been cheering for another chance to show his heroism to Lainey, he knew it wouldn't have gone as well as it went in his head. Besides, if anything, this was a good sign that maybe Sorciere really was just some crazy, confusing tourist instead of a force to be reckoned with.

Lainey crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair uncomfortably. Her expression was hard to read, but it seemed as if she was unsure whether she could believe Sorciere or not. "Some girl in middle school. She disappeared from the school, and everyone's worried about her."

A frown pulled Sorciere's lips downwards. "That is truly awful. Were either of you close with this girl? I can't imagine how horrible that must feel to lose someone just like that." Jezzy wasn't sure, but he thought that he could hear a quiet addition to Sorciere's statement. Something like 'or maybe I do...'

Jezzy and Lainey shook their heads in unison.

"Ah. Well, hopefully she will be found and returned home safely soon."

Jezzy expression turned angry. He still couldn't believe that someone out there had it in them to just steal a little girl from her loving family. It was, as Sorciere had put it, truly awful. "Yeah... Hopefully..."

The three talked idly among themselves for a little while longer with the main topic of the evening out in the open. They devoured what was left of the cold pizza and when that was done, they each popped the tab off of a can of cold cola.

Stories came spilling from mouths as they slowly grew more and more comfortable with each other. Lainey even cracked a few jokes which had taken Jezzy by complete surprise. The small girl seemed extremely flustered when Jezzy had actually laughed at them.

Eventually, the sound of crickets came from the outside, and Lainey shot up from the table. "Shit! I better get home before Aunt Minnie goes berserk. She's probably worried sick. I was supposed to be home a long time ago."

Jezzy stood up a lot more calmly, beginning to pick up the mess on the table and collect the plates together. "You'd better get home then." He looked up with a sudden thought and made direct eye contact with Lainey. "You want me to come with you and explain where you were?"

Lainey chewed on her bottom lip apprehensively, though it seemed a small part of was considering this offer. "Somehow, I think that would that would make it even worse. No, I better not show up at home late with some random high school graduate, even if you are my neighbor. Thanks though, I guess. And thanks for the pizza too. You want some help with the dishes quick?"

Shaking his head and causing his bangs to flop further into his face, Jezzy waved a hand at Lainey. "I don't want to hold you back any longer."

Lainey shrugged nonchalantly. "It's fine. There's something I want to do anyways." She walked over to Jezzy, taking the plates from his extended arms and trotting to the kitchen. As she disappeared around the corner, Jezzy turned to Sorciere who was inspecting his nails casually.

"So, that missing girl... You're sure you had nothing to do with her?" the two tone teenager blurted out before he could stop himself. He covered his mouth with surprised horror, but did not take back a single word. The accusation was out, so there was no reason he should go back on it now.

Sorciere blinked with wide, almost hurt eyes. "Never! I might be capable of doing many terrible things, but harming an innocent child... I would never stoop that low. You need not to worry about me so much. I promise you that I have no interest in harming anyone for that matter. Lainey and you, you're all safe, I promise."

Jezzy's tail whisked across his wooden floor. "If you break that promise and you end up hurting any of my friends or myself... I... I won't hesitate to call the authority on you."

Dipping his head, Sorciere acknowledged Jezzy's somewhat serious threat. "If it ever came to that, I would not stop you. I assure you that it never will though. You have my word."

Jezzy sighed deeply. "Alright, I... I hope I can trust you, Sorciere."

"You can," Sorciere announced confidently, rising from his chair.

At this moment, Lainey raced back from the kitchen, shoving her phone back into her sweater pocket hastily. "Alright, I did what I wanted to. I gotta go."

Sorciere took his witch hat by the brim and tipped it at Jezzy. "I suppose I should as well. It was good to see you again, Jezzy, as was it to spend some time with you, Lainey. I hope to see you both again soon. Goodbye, and good night." With that, the mysterious yellow feline strolled slowly out of the front door.

Lainey held back, her tail flicking back and forth. She shifted her weight uncomfortably. Once the sounds of footsteps had faded away, she turned to Jezzy. "So... you think he's innocent? That we can trust him?"

Jezzy shook his head from side to side, finger-combing through his unkempt bangs. "I don't know anymore. I don't think he did anything to Kyandii, but that doesn't mean he won't do something even worse. He’s in a pretty grey area to me right now."

Lainey nodded in agreement. "I definitely get what you mean. Now I really have to go, but thanks for letting me come over."

The host of the house smiled half-heartedly. "Hey, any time."

Lainey also smiled, but she dipped her head in an effort to hide it. "Bye, Jezzy." She walked to the door and began her trek home. Jezzy leaned out the doorway and waved to her, calling out a few goodbyes before she was out of sigh.

With the cheetah girl out of his house, Jezzy sighed. He could finally get ready for bed at last. He padded over to his bathroom, already beginning to fantasize about the long, hot shower he was about to take.

<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>_<>

Jezzy walked over to his plush bed, sitting down on the edge. He leaned forward towards his bedside drawer and opened up of the small doors. Pulling out a small, unused notebook and a sharp pencil, he flipped to the first page.

The pencil began to flow over the paper beneath it. All of the strange things that had happened with Sorciere and the quirks that Jezzy had noticed about him soon began to take up the page until nearly half of it was filled. He didn't stop though. He kept writing and writing until every little unsettling thing was recorded, including Kyandii's disappearance.

Suddenly, Jezzy's phone, which had been resting on the kitchen counter, began to ding. This startled him greatly, causing his tail to bush up to around two sizes fluffier than usual. He raced over to the counter and saw that he had a text from Dawn.

The graduate swiped past the security lock on his phone and tapped onto his messaging app. The message met his eyes and read, 'hey paper boy : ) just wonderin if you've seen celeste anywhere ??? she went for a walk earlier and she's still not back. im kinda worried.'

Jezzy frowned, looking down at his notebook. Celeste was missing now too, but how could that be possible? Sorciere had been with Lainey and himself the whole night. There was no way he could have abducted a grown woman during that time. How could he have done anything to Celeste?

Taking a deep breath to slow his thoughts, Jezzy texted his older friend back. 'Hey, Dawn! No, I haven't seen Celeste anywhere, sorry. : ( Maybe she's dissociating again? She'll probably come back, but even so, I'll keep an eye out for her. Try not to stress about it. Get a good night's rest!' Jezzy hit send and stood up, bending backwards to loosen up his back. He plodded over to his closet and picked out a pair of pajamas, changing into them hurriedly. When he returned to his bed, he had two more messages on his phone.

The first message was from Dawn and read, 'okay, thanks and yeah probably. might have to get her a microchip lol !! i'll go look for her again but if i can't find her i'll just report it to the police. hopefully she'll be back soon though. you too!!!!'

Jezzy smiled. Even in the most worrying of situations, Dawn still had it in him to be as happy-go-lucky as usual. Jezzy strived to be as laid back as that golden retriever. He swiped onto the next text who was apparently from Lainey.

When did I get her number? Jezzy thought, feeling a bit unnerved. He didn't usually go around asking random girls or even people for that matter for their phone numbers. Had he asked for her number when he had spaced out walking Sorciere and Lainey to his house?

'Heyyy so I saw ur phone on the counter and put my # in 4 u. hope u don't mind 2 much. had fun talking 2 u 2day and maybe we were wrong bout sorc? idk i'll keep my eyes on him'

Jezzy nodded to himself. Ah, so that's what she had to do so badly. He texted his acquaintance back quickly. 'Hey! It's totally fine, and yeah, I had fun too. Maybe, but I still don't trust him completely. He gives off bad vibes. It's pretty late though. Get some sleep.' He pushed send and almost immediately, he received a text back from none other than Lainey.

'who are u supposed 2 b? my dad??'

Jezzy snorted in amusement. 'Trust the tired graduate, and get as much sleep as you can now before it's too late.' He pushed send once more, awaiting a response back. He was starting to feel a bit drowsy due to all the pizza he had eaten. Just as he was beginning to drift off, his phone dinged again, snapping him back to reality.

Lainey had sent another message: 'LOL ur funny :P'

Feeling more tired now, Jezzy smiled sleepily. 'I try. Good night, Lainey.'

And with that, he placed his phone on his drawer and laid down on his pillows. He pulled a blanket over his body, cuddling his face into it and breathing deeply. His phone dinged one last time, but sleep had overtaken him at last.

Black numbness washed over Jezzy, and his chest rose and fell.

**Author's Note:**

> All characters mentioned in this chapter belong to me.


End file.
